MS Final Taufik Hidayat beat Chen Hong 21-18, 21-19. TH was in splendid form and was always a step or two ahead of CH. There was no sign of injury and TH appeared in good physical condition. TH's overhead smash was killing CH's lifts, although the latter is also endowed with a similar lethal weapon. But in backhand, TH was unbeatable as he used it as though with his forehand and displayed strength, versatility and accuracy to taunt CH. Not that CH's own backhand is no good, but TH's was better. Coupled with a superb net display, TH was almost calling the shots at the net, much to CH's chagrin. The inevitable outcome had to come sooner than later in straight games as TH upped the pace. I suppose the short layoff by CH's self-imposed early retirement put paid to his final efforts. He has done relatively well to have gone into the finals although he was stretched by a rejuvenated Yeoh Kay Bin in three games 21-14, 17-21, 21-17 in the SF. CH appears to be a 'free' man adorning the colours of badminton equipment supplier "Victor". I thought I saw Xiong Guobao acting as his coach?
Nice pics Loh... Chen Hong is happy to be in the Finals. Too bad he lost, but he is glad for the results.
Yes Chen Hong must be feeling something else now he is representing himself rather than the state. A little off-topic: Victor must also be glad that a player at the elite circle is endorsing their products. I have seen some CCTV program that Zhoa Jian Hwa is using Victor rackets so it seems that Victor is making some headway towards ex-national players who are not obliged to use rackets from the state sponsor Yonex. Not surprise though that CH endorses Victor, a Taiwan brand, given his connections with Taiwan. But do surprise that local brand such as Kason do no see this commercial opportunity.
MD Final Lee Wan Wah-Chong Tan Fook beat Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong 21-14, 11-21, 21-12 Without their coach to tip them, the more experienced senior pair of LWW-CTF prevailed to douse the intermittent fires of their young compatriots. So the veteran pair has earned their keep to prove that they could be as effective as the recently-crowned AE champions. LWW-CTF gave back all they took from KKK-TBH and even came up tops with LWW at the net and the aggressive CTF at the back to demonstrate his powerful smashes. They are not 'old' as they kept pace and tactics with the younger pair. Even in the semi-finals, they came back from a game down to overhaul another young Malaysian pair, Zakry-Tazari, 11-21, 21-13, 21-15. With renewed confidence LWW and CTF can surely remain in the limelight for a longer period. Now that they have won the ABC crown, I don't foresee attempts to force them into early reitrement as earlier feared.
Nice Pics Loh. Was watching at home... and the MS match was kinda interesting. A lot of tricky shots esp at the net from both players and they seem to look like they're enjoying themselves. It's just rare to see TH laughing and smiling so much while playing heheh.. I like the hand shake and hug after the game. As for the MD.. I wish the veterans will play like this at other international tournaments. They attacked a lot and more aggresive.. and like.. no fear of the youngsters. After all, they're former World No 1... 'dun pray pray' ah
WS Semi-Final Wog Mew Choo v Lu Lan Lu Lan defeated Wong Mew Choo 21-17, 21-18 Mew Choo did not disgrace herself as she matched Lu Lan most of the way. WCM had to be more hardworking as the taller Lu took advantage of her height and reach to force the pace. She must have been quite traumatized when WCM managed to return most of her powerful attacking clears and sharp angled drops. In fact had WMC remained focussed and taken her shots well in the latter part of the second game, she could have won as Lu was visibly tired and resorted to time wasting. But the slight chance for a breather saw Lu intensifying her pace towards the end and knocked WMC out of competition.
thanks a lot Loh for the pics especially wmc and lww/ctf vs kkk/tbh pics. really appreciate it.nice review too. glad that lww/ctf won the final. it is good for them and also mas md team as this shows that they are improving and cathing up with kkk/tbh. too bad wmc lost but can see that she did her best. need to improve more though.hehe.so, Loh i guess sure u were enjoying yourself watching ABC there rite? hehe.thanks again
WD Semi Final China v Japan Yang Wei-Zhao Tingting beat Ogura Kumiko-Shiota Reiko 21-15, 21-9 These pictures are specially for Dreamz who just adores Reiko-san and Kumiko-san. The Japanese girls showed glimpses of their potential in the first game but completely fizzled out in the second. The new Chinese partnership with the more experienced Yang Wei as anchor were just too good on the day. They went on to win the Final against a new and younger Chinese pair Cheng Shu-Zhao Yunlei 21-10, 21-11. This victory came as a consolation for Zhao Tingting who partnered Xu Chen in the XD final but lost to fellow countrymen, He Hanbin-Yu Yang 20-22, 15-21.
i saw it somewhat differently. Smashing was equally strong from both side. TH won mainly because of numerous unforced errors by CH from employing too much deception. CH made several lifting out when TH was caught out of base position. TH was playing mostly on the safe side, nothing spectacular but keep the bird in play.
Oh yes, I enjoyed myself with some of my new found friends, one a member of this Forum. We all met at the Kranji MRT (Mass Rapid Transit, basically a train as your LRT) bus stop at the appointed time. There we took a bus across the causeway, after presenting ourselves in person with our passports at the two Immigration checkpoints (Singapore and Malaysia). With time on our side, we took a leisurely walk to City Square to have our lunch before we made the rest of our way to City Stadium, the venue, by taxi. Even by then, the good seats in the Indoor Stadium had all be taken up. Johorians were all geared up for the live entertainment that ensued and you should hear the din they made when a good fight was on hand, especially involving Malaysian players.
Noodle House.. Mr. Bean Chicken Rice.. DROOL.. Nice stadium!!! Loh, which member from this forum did you meet?
