i hope PR bad luck in the US does not rob any of the glory that rightfully belongs to any title winner. as far as i know Kendric is in hot form.
US Open is 1* Grand Prix Event, it is more important than Singapore Satellite... (though it's not obvious that the level was higher )
Lousy Loser You Fook90, shame on you ! US Open is NOT a "A" grade tournament. It is a 1*star Grand Prix Event ! Else why you think Peter Rasmussen took part ? Anyway, Kendrick did not ask Peter Rasmussen to get injured what ! Why did Peter R injured himself during the game ? Because he was trying to retrieve Kendrick's difficult shot ? Considering that Peter R had been having easy matches until this Final match. You cannot take the credit away from Kendrick Lee. What a lousy loser you are !
Smartcivet, what do you mean by SBA is judgematic ? First time I hear this phrase. You mean SBA is very good at spotting talents ?
im sure Fook90 didnt mean it in such a negative way lets not take it the wrong way and im sure he had the purest intention when making that post. i really dont want to see 'Bash Fook90 part 2' in BF coz i KNOW that we are nice friendly ppl. Fook90. you seem to have a bad luck when posting about Singapore international players. this seems to be the second time i remember you being bashed up by other BFers for you innocent comment. i remember the last one was about Susilo. keep your chin up dude and better luck next time. cheers
Well, I'm happy for both Kendrick and Aiying and I think they thoroughly deserved to be champs despite what others may say. They both trained very hard as I've seen them in training not too long ago. I personally like the attitude of Aiying as she never fails to put on a smile. Aiying and the other girls have been given English lessons and I understand that she is learning fast. She used to act as interpretor for Sari to convey their Chinese coach's Mandarin instructions. Her doubles partner, Sari, from Indonesia, maybe slightly older than her, might have exchanged the different things they learned from their respective 'home' coaches and Aiying thus displayed the harder hitting style that she may perhaps learned from her good friend, Sari. But, because Aiying is trained mainly as a doubles players, her strokes have to be more attacking. Furthermore, the last time I saw them, they were usually sparred against the Indonesian men twins, Benny & Danny, who were also on the SBA payroll. On the Aiying-Sari doubles partnership, I was again disappointed that they couldn't advance further. They also failed in the Asian Satellite Open in Singapore. After this tournament, I had a chat with their Chinese coach in my limited Mandarin to actually tell him my views of their play. I think that the girls' partnership was based too much on 'power' with too many hard-hitting shots. This became too obvious to the opponents and once they were able to counter the Singaporeans' attacks, it was a matter of time that their opponents would prevail. The Singapore girls should vary the pace and style by introducing softer touches like more drops and net play as well as more precision shots to open positions instead of repeatedly hammering the poor bird. Aiying has proven she can use her brains by beating all the other women in her path, she should use this same gift in her doubles. It is unfortunate that Peter Rasmussen was injured and thus couldn't continue. But I think we should not take the credit from Kendrick in this one-star (not A Grade nor Satellite, please) event. We all know that Peter is no pushover, having been a World Champion before and for him to be injured against Kendrick says something of the difficult shots that he was being pushed to return. You will see more of Kendrick in more major events and he will prove that his current success is no fluke! And the success of these two young shuttlers will keep the current badminton 'frenzy' in Singapore on 'high alert' with the intensity building up towards the 5-star "Aviva Singapore Open 2004" in mid-November. All Singaporean eyes will follow the progress of our young stars, including Ronald Susilo and Li Li, and I believe this year will bring in a record crowd, surpassing the 23,000 we saw last year. Cheers and congrats to Kendrick and Aiying and may they play better badminton in the coming years!
Give them both a little time to gain some playing mileages or flying hour. Because both of them are merely 15 & 16 respectively still quite young. But it is amazing to see how much they have achieved in the US Open, a 1 star event. Not too bad........ Give them 2 more years then you will see that they might become talk of the world (Badminton world that is).
Thanks for your comment. I take it as a complement !! BTW, were you there at the final ? I actually try to meet with some BFers, but there were too many people, i dont know how to start.
Who is 15 resp 16? Kendricks is 19. Anyway, congratulations to the winners! Future will tell if this was a "freak incident" or the beginning of something big. But If Kendricks had led when Rasmussen's injury occurred at 7-12, it would perhaps have felt less unfair...
I was lucky enough to be able to watch the match betweeen PR n Kendrick. PR was actually a class better imho. He was leading 12-1 in the first set, when something obviously happened to him. His movement was not as fast. And Kendrick was then able to catch up to 12-7, before PR withdrew. He seems to be walking weird after, and he was holding his chest as he sat down.
Hm. Probably stretched a muscle in his chest. If he could play on for a while, he hardly tore anything. At least it sounds like it wasn't his (in)famous Achilles tendons breaking... Thanks for the report. The 12-1 lead confirms where this match was going before Rasmussen's injury.
Yes, I agree with you provided the girls show the same kind of passion, commitment and hard work, then perhaps we will be able to field a women's Uber Cup team for the first time!
With due respect and in all fairness, I don't think one should classify both of Kendrick's win as 'lucky'. Despite having to serve National (military) Service, this young man of 19 going on 20, has put in a lot of hard training with the rest of the national team and his mentor and sparring partner, Ronald Susilo. At the Satellite, he beat Kuan Beng Hong in straight games. Kuan is no newcomer having earned his place as Malaysia's Thomas Cup 3rd Singles reserve after Lee Chong Wei. Remember Kuan beat compatriot Yeoh Kay Bin, who was top seed. Although Peter Rasmussen is a much higher ranked player and former World Champ, his is already 30 and the first game may have proven too much for him to cause an injury. Even if he succeeded in taking the first game despite Kendrick's strong recovery from 1-12 down as reported, it doesn't necessarily mean he will win comfortably in straight games. We have seen many a time how another great Dane, Peter Gade, lost when extended to the rubber by a younger player such as Lin Dan or Taufik. So Kendrick deserved his win. Yes, we celebrate Singapore's singles double and sports journalist, Marc Lim of the Straits Times took the opportunity to report it today as follows: SEPT 27, 2004 BADMINTON Singapore's singles double Teens Kendrick and Aiying win men's and women's titles at US Open By Marc Lim THEY are teenagers considered second-rung compared to Singapore's top badminton players Ronald Susilo and Li Li. But yesterday, Kendrick Lee, 19, and Xing Aiying, 15, showed there is more to Singapore badminton than their more illustrious team-mates. The pair clinched the men's and women's singles titles at the US$30,000 (S$50,000) US Open in California to join Susilo, winner of April's five-star Japan Open, as Singapore's only Grand Prix champion. Although the US Open is a one-star event - the lowest ranked on the circuit and usually without the top names - they had to overcome higher-ranked finalists in Denmark's ex-world champion Peter Rasmussen and American Zhou Lili. And it was evident from telephone interviews hours later that, one-star or not, nothing was going to take away the gloss from their wins - although they celebrated in contrasting styles. For 2002 World Junior runner-up Lee, it completed his transition from satellite tournaments to the Grand Prix circuit. And the first people he shared his happiness with were his parents. Said Lee, who was declared winner after Rasmussen retired with an injured ankle despite leading 12-7 in the first game: 'They are the ones who have been encouraging me all along, supported my decision to quit my studies. 'Hearing them say 'well done' means a lot to me.' His success is extra special - as Susilo is Indonesian-born, Lee becomes the first Singapore-born winner on the international circuit. Ranked 46th in the world, the former Singapore Polytechnic student scalped All-England quarter-finalist Aamir Ghaffar en route to a US$2,400 showdown with 1997 world champion Rasmussen. Lee had never faced the 30-year-old Dane and sought advice from Susilo, his team-mate turned part-time coach. Susilo's tip was to employ a quick game and move the ageing Dane about. And it was such a rally, with Lee trailing 6-12, that turned the match. Said Lee: 'I forced him back and won the point at the net and that was when he stopped. He said that he heard a 'click' from his ankle and could not continue.' Asked if he could have won if Rasmussen had stayed fit, the Singapore and Thailand satellite winner said: 'Possibly, because I was fighting back. But I'll take it.' Like Lee, Xing also wanted to share her joy with her parents in China's Jiangsu province. But the Singapore permanent resident could not. She explained: 'I had used up the credits on my calling card the previous night when I spoke to my parents. 'Before I hung up, my dad said that, since it was my last day, there was no point buying a new one. So, I guess the good news will have to wait until I borrow someone's card.' Having never progressed past the second round on the circuit, her 9-11, 11-6, 11-2 win over Zhou came as a surprise. And the inexperience of playing in a final cost her the first game. Although up 9-5, her anxiety and eagerness saw her hand the American the opener. But, with coach You Guangli's advice to use her better fitness and move her opponent around, she fought back to take the winner's cheque of US$2,070. Yet, as she and the Singapore team head for the Denmark Open today, she will have one regret. She said: 'The badminton hall is near Disneyland and I keep seeing this giant Mickey Mouse every time we drive past. 'It's a pity I can't go, but I'd rather win the tournament than go to Disneyland. 'Maybe with the prize money, I will settle for a soft toy.'
Easy, geez, if anyone's going to slag off the opinions of admin it's ME! ;P The guy was injured, and retired whilst leading, what would you say if the score was Taufik versus say um, some up and coming young Danish player, you'd probably say the same thing that Mag did.
Tony Gunawan and Howard Bach seem to have put up an impressive win against Danes Mathias Boe and Carsten Mogensen! 15-5 15-7!!! Anyway, congrats also to the singaporean youngsters... and congrats to Cheng Wen Hsing for winning both WD and XD! (though this was maybe less of a surprise...)
except for the ethnocentric remark i actually agree a little bit more with Nrlll9. remeber olympics XD final when gail and nathan lost the first set 15-1. it was not a good indicator on how close and exciting the rest of the match actually was. lots of respect for Peter and Kendric however i think all the 'suggestive' remarks in this thread are very uncalled for
now now now... please respect each other's opinions. we are all entitled to support our favorite players...
There's really no need at all for that tone of voice. My remark was based on b0urg301s13's first-hand report of the match. He felt there was a class difference between these players. This has nothing to do with "european player nuthugging". But indeed, anything is possible. Even coming back after 1-12. We will just never know, will we? What we do know, however, is that Kendrick will have many opportunities to show that this was no fluke. Best of luck to him!
