Thanks for the article. Didn't know it's a close call to LCW. I don't remember seeing Zhu Wei Lun's video before and know nothing about him. Did anyone report why ZB/GL lost?
go to China Badminton website, since you can read Chinese, I think they cover it there. Msia press cover more on Msia players. You can get the vid from yesterday's highlights, see if Aerotus or Takeshi has uploaded it. It has last few min of LCW vs Zhu.
They did upload something, but I haven't got them all yet. In Chinese website http://www.chinabadminton.com/ it has not got any news, already checked.
And more for my birdy friend : The Star Online > Sports Thursday April 17, 2008 Badminton: Top seeds Lin Dan and Chong Wei struggle for wins By RAJES PAUL IT was the last but, definitely, the most anticipated match of the day and Lee Chong Wei almost broke the hearts of the local fans at the Bandaraya Stadium. Yesterday, the country’s top men’s singles shuttler had to come back from the brink of defeat to tame China’s Zhu Weilun 17-21, 21-16, 21-6 in a 48-minute battle. Close call: China’s Lin Dan makes a backhand return to Vietnam’s Nguyen Tien Minh in the second round yesterday. Lin Dan won 19-21, 21-14, 21-16. There were anxious moments when he was trailing 1-5 and 8-11 in the second game but the second seed came up with the goods to claw his way up to level at 12-12 and 15-15. Then, spurred on by the fans, Chong Wei stepped up a gear to force the rubber, winning it 21-6 to seal the match. Today, he will take on Thailand’s Boonsak Ponsana in the third round. Boonsak had earlier dashed Yeoh Kay Bin’s hopes of strengthening his claim for a place in the Thomas Cup Finals by beating the Malaysian 21-10, 21-13. Chong Wei attributed his poor start to his inability to read Weilun’s game. The two last met during the Asian Junior Championships in Japan eight years ago. “I was 18 years old when I last played against him. He is hardly sent out for international tournaments. “Now, his game has changed a lot. I knew it would be tough but he certainly surprised me with his improved performance,” said the 26-year-old Chong Wei. “I was not used to his style of play and took a while to get into rhythm. I knew that I needed to break his rhythm and, fortunately, I managed to do that when I was tied at 15-15. “This is not the start that I had expected. But I promise I will bounce back with better performances. I want to keep my unbeaten record against Boonsak. “Hopefully, I will be able to reach the semi-finals for a possible meeting with Bao (Chunlai of China),” added the 2006 Asian champion. Besides Chong Wei, three other Malaysians – Wong Choong Hann, Mohd Hafiz Hashim and Tan Chun Seang – also made it to the third round. Choong Hann, who hurt his finger during a hard-fought 21-17, 21-14 win over former Asian junior champion Kenichi Tago, said he expects a great fight against Chen Yu of China today. “I have a good record against Chen Yu although it has been a while since we last met. It is going to be an interesting match and I expect it to go down to the wire.” Hafiz, who snuffed out a fiery challenge from his younger compatriot Mohd Arif Abdul Latif with a 21-16, 21-17 win, will take on Chunlai today. Chun Seang, the nation’s top back-up shuttler, also has a tough task today as he will take on South Korean Park Sung-hwan. Said national singles coach Misbun Sidek: “The matches will only get tougher from now on. It will be tough for the players who are facing Chinese opponents but we hope for a good showing from the Malaysians.” Meanwhile, top seed Lin Dan of China also got off to a jittery start. He came back from a game down to beat Vietnam’s Nguyen Tien Minh 19-21, 21-14, 21-16 to set up a meeting with Singapore’s Ronald Susilo.
On Msia's youngster WS Lydia Cheah : The Star Online > Sports Thursday April 17, 2008 Lydia knocks Japan’s Kaori out again in Johor Baru IT was a case of deja vu for national women’s singles shuttler Lydia Cheah at the Asian Badminton Championships yesterday. Lydia, the world No. 85, scored an upset win when she knocked out seventh seed Kaori Mori of Japan 21-14, 21-14 in 25 minutes in the second round. The irony is that it was at this tournament last year, and on the same court, that she had beaten the world number 21-ranked Japanese. Her breakthrough performance was indeed a timely boost to her confidence as she prepares for the Uber Cup Finals, which will be held in Jakarta from May 11-18. “It is my first upset win in a year. In fact, I had beaten Kaori in this same tournament here at the same court last year,” said a jubilant Lydia. “This win has certainly given me a little more confidence ahead of the Uber Cup Finals. There is a possibility that Malaysia may meet Japan.” In the Uber Cup Finals, Malaysia must win against Denmark if they hope to emerge as group champions in order to take on Germany in the quarter-finals. If they beat Germany, they may face Japan in the semi-finals. “But I do not want to underestimate my next opponent, Japan’s Kaori Imabeppu, although there is a chance for me to reach the quarter-finals. Last year, I made the mistake of raising my hopes too high and I crashed out in the second round,” said Lydia. Besides Lydia, two other Malaysians – Julia Wong and Wong Mew Choo – also marched into the second round, albeit in contrasting fashions. While Julia fought tooth-and-nail to beat eighth seed Saina Nehwal of India 21-15, 16-21, 21-17, Mew Choo blew away Vietnamese Le Ngoc Nguyen Nhung 21-10, 21-6. Julia will face Japan’s Ai Goto while Mew Choo will take on Thailand’s Porntip Buranaprasertsuk for places in the quarter-finals.
LCW's close call with Zhu Weilun in Round 2 . eaglehelang... Thank you for that article. It must to scary for LCW when he trailed 8-12 in the second game, after losing the first 17-21. We can say that LCW is mentally tougher/stronger now? Once he has won the second game, the third was a breeze. .
In this interview, Misbun talked mostly about CJ in ABC 08 and OG 08. Looked like he's laying the ground work in case LCW fails to get baddy gold medal: it's all because of the presence of 3 Chn players. Sorry troubling you for the translation. Thanks again. The quotes in black were odd to me. The first one as BCL sending shots to the rear court did not seem to me anything new from BCL. Second one, focusing on LCW's footwork as the counter measure for Chn "new strategy" looks not to be a new strategy from LCW at all. I could hardly understand what Misbun was getting at Maybe he did not want to reveal what he's really thinking
In the 1st place, CJ must get to final 1st to get his ticket to OG, he he. As for 'new strategy', maybe the other BCers who can read Malay could interpret Misbun's statement better. And yes, in public, Misbun answers without really saying in detail, supposed to be secret mah. But since this is 2nd time he said it, though I think it was different Malay press....could be sthing or nothing.
I think it's over hyped for the ABC showdown between LD and LCW. First of all, I doubt they will meet in Final because LCW has BCL at the bottom half. And for LD, he has no track records playing in Msia, so I dont expect him to clinch the MS title. I think CJ or BCL will win... more likely CJ
