Singapore Open: Lin Dan cautious about his chances 01/05/07, 10:39:47 It won’t be easy for Lin Dan as the Singapore Open has attracted the best. WORLD champion Lin Dan is not so sure he can conquer the world at the Aviva Singapore Open Super Series which starts tomorrow at the Indoor Stadium. Despite the No 1 tag and being the No 1 seed, the Chinese shuttler has spoken about the outside influences which could play a decisive hand in determining who wears the crown. It's about the wind and the heat too, said Lin Dan, this year’s All-England champion, at yesterday's Press Conference in Singapore. "South East Asia is always hot and humid and it affects me psychologically. But indoor, they turn on the air conditioning full blast to keep everybody cool which causes a draft in the hall which can be a huge problem," said Lin Dan. Together with his girlfriend Xie Xinfang, who is also the world's No 1, the pair are looking for a double triumph in Singapore, although publicly they have not admitted so. "There is no promise made to each other that we will win here. But we have promised each other that we will go out and enjoy Singapore," said Lin Dan. It won’t be easy for Lin Dan as the Singapore Open has attracted the best. "It’s a strong field and for me it’s a big challenge to try and win the title," said Lin Dan. Peter Gade Christensen, the defending champion from Denmark, is also feeling the heat. At 31, age is no longer on his side and he knows defending the title will be tougher than winning it. "But I am prepared. Six weeks of training back home has given me a comfortable preparation period and I am ready for the challenge ahead. Of course it doesn’t please me to know that I have to face Indonesia’s Taufik Hidayat in the second round," said Gade, who won the Malaysian Open in January. But for Taufik, the scenario is so different. So conducive in fact. "I came ready to win the Singapore crown. Last year was a bit unfortunate that I had to skip the tournament because of injury. "But I have kept training hard even after winning the Asian crown in Johor Baru two weeks ago with winning the Singapore Open and then the Indonesian Open next week in mind," said Taufik. So where does that leave Malaysia’s hope Lee Chong Wei?. He did not come for the Press conference which he should have and it was left to Hafiz Hashim, who faces Chong Wei in the first round, to face the questions. "For me it’s all fair with Chong Wei when we meet in the first round. "Locally I have never beaten him but in the international arena I have beaten him before. So it’s all fair and square," said Hafiz.
Kien Keat must be level-headed 30/04/07, 11:33:15 By : boopathy@nstp.com.my if he wants to make his critics eat their words, must perform to his best in the Singapore Open which starts tomorrow. Kien Keat, whose prima donna behaviour during the recent Asian Badminton Championships in Johor Baru, riled national doubles coach Rexy Mainaky, who as a deterrent, put the shuttler through several punishments. This included covering 50 laps of a 200-metre track which lasted almost two hours, and extra training drills which Kien Keat completed without complaining. Kien Keat, after a shoddy performance in Johor Baru where he and partner Tan Boon Heong were beaten by compatriots Choong Tan Fook-Lee Wan Wah for the title, said he would show his true ability in Singapore and it’s no secret he is targeting the title. When Kien Keat-Boon Heong lost to Lee Jae Jin-Hwang Ji Man in the team semi-finals against South Korea in the Doha Asian Games in December (where Malaysia lost 3-1), a fed-up Rexy threatened to quit and that got the Malaysian pair back to their best again. Kien Keat-Boon Heong responded by winning the Asian Games gold medal — a first for Malaysia in 36 years — without dropping a game. Kien Keat, on that occasion, was the one who made the difference with his experience and again showed he can be relied on when the pair won the All England title last month. National chief coach Yap Kim Hock, who had coached Kien Keat earlier in his career, said the shuttler is a natural fighter and has the ability to bounce back strongly when the odds are against him. "I can see him (Kien Keat) making a strong impact in the Singapore Open. His focus might drift at times but he has the ability to regain his composure very quickly," said Kim Hock yesterday. "It is his desire to take on the opposition and perform at the highest level that had helped them to win consistently. We can expect Kien Keat to rise to the occasion again." "Rexy has done a good job of disciplining Kien Keat and he has realised his mistakes. We can expect something special from Kien Keat and Boon Heong again," added Kim Hock. This being the case, the top pairs at the Singapore Open will have to watch out for Kien Keat who will be keen to prove he is world class and that the Johor Baru episode was a hiccup. The pair’s prime target remains the Olympic gold medal in Beijing next year. Winning the Singapore Open will restore the public’s faith in Kien Keat-Boon Heong, but more importantly it will help them earn a top four seeding in the World Championships in August and, eventually, becoming the World No 1. Kien Keat-Boon Heong have a tricky opening match against compatriots Fairuzizuan Tazari-Zakry Latif, which they are expected to win, and then have Eng Hian-Rian Sukmawan of Indonesia to deal with in the second round. Assuming they progress, they meet Indonesia’s joint third seeds Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan in the last eight and a win will pit them against second-seeded Danes Jens Eriksen-Martin Lundgaard Hansen in the semi-finals. The Malaysian pair have beaten them all and if Kien Keat can contain his sometimes over-eager play and remain focused, another title is as good as in the bag.
Hope KKK/TBH will not get another punishment....especially losing to team mates.....good chance for Indonesian or korean doubles to advance futher....
Sealman, missed your posting. Did u mean the carpark rallies? I came to a few in the 90s, now the only thing worth watching is F1, things get more interesting with many young pretenders this season. Can't wait to see S'pore's F1 Street Circuit Race soon. If the deal goes through, where will it be held? Anyway, will be in S'pore for q-finals and semis, but cannot stay until Final Day.
i dont know if someone has alread mentioned this but i couldnt help noticing the singaporean MS players doing quite well! Kendrick Lee (Sin) bt Chen Jin (Chn) 16-21, 21-16, 23-21 Ronald Susilo (Sin) bt Sony Dwi Kuncoro (Ina) 21-13, 21-10 also the imported player Huang Chia-Chi (Aus) bt Xu Huaiwen (Ger) 21-10, 21-13
I think there are huge incentives to do well from Singapore Badminton Association and from AVIVA, the sponsor. It goes to prove my point a person can be motivated to go the extra mile.
I was there to watch our two Singaporean MS players in action, Kendrick Lee and Ronald Susilo. They have proved their critics wrong by putting up a splendid show against two highly respected opponents. Especially Kendrick, who came from behind to snatch a last minute victory over the highly ranked Chen Jin who is seeded #3 in this tournament. Kendrick employed the right tactics in the second and final games by keeping the shuttle low as far as possible and not allowing Chen Jin the freedom to smash it down as he did so well in the first game. There is one guy in this forum by the name of Tommy something (probably an Indonesian residing in the UK) who used to make fun of, and pass unkind remarks on, Kendrick at every opportunity. I hope he gives Kendrick some respect from now onwards and stop his uncalled-for irritations. Ronald is another example of a man of determination and courage, like Wong Choong Hann of Malaysia, who suffered the same fate of having their Achilles tendon injured. Before them is the great Dane, Peter Gade, who suffered the same injury two or three years earlier and who put up such a commanding display against Taufik Hidayat yesterday. Sony Kuncoro who defeated Chen Hong a day before found no answers to Ronald's steady play as the straight games score of 21-13, 21-10 revealed. Ronald was determined to return every shot from Sony and defended very well, leaving Sony exasperated most times. Coincidentally, both Ronald and WCH advanced to the quarter finals deservedly. Singapore did better by having two MS in the QF as opposed to Malaysia's one from WCH. WCH disposed of Japan's No.1, Shoji Sato 21-16, 21-18, His compatriot Hafiz, who knocked out LCW in a close match in R1 was unable to repeat his success against Boonsak Ponsana of Thailand and lost timidly, 21-14, 21-13. Whilst WCH will have a decidedly harder task against Chen Yu today, Ronald will meet compatriot Kendrick. Though Ronald is still affected somewhat mentally by his unfortuate injury during the last WC in Anahiem, his experience may prove decisive against Kendrick. Whatever the outcome, Singapore will have a representative in the MS semi-finals.
It was thrilling to watch Taufik vs Gade last nite. Both players deserved loud applauds from the fans who came for the "match of the nite". It was unbelievable to see them retrieved those deadly shots and as far as skills are concerned, there's nothing to seperate them. The result does not reflect the true color of the game, coz it was a very intensed and high speed game with few amazing trick shots by both players. In the end, Gade prevailed due to less unforced errors. Give Taufik full credits coz he did his best and played a very high energy game. Congrats to Gade, and hope to see Gade vs LD in the final. After watching most of the MS games, IMHO, I can conclude that there are only three players (LD, Taufik n Gade) on their own league, and the rest are doing the catching up. CJ didnt impress me, neither did the local lads. For MD, the top seed didnt impress me as well. I was watching closely for the Chandra/Tony vs China pair. Chandra/Tony thrashed them and never a doubt in my mind that they would go on and win SG Open if they maintain the same performance.
I was so dissapointed to watch the Mr.Yoyo aka Hafiz vs Boonsak match. Yoyo played badly and his movement on the court seemed "heavy". Boonsak aint a good player, and I tot Yoyo could "eat" him and progress to the next round. Very sad to see my fellow kelantanse played at such a low level game. After beating LCW, I tot he had regained his fitness and confidence, and on the trail for another All England title, but alas, I was damn stupid to believe his remarks after beating LCW.
I am pretty sure his heaviness was a result of his 3 sets with LCW. Hafiz does not have inner strength, either he eats too much of the wrong food or he is not putting effort in his stamina workouts. He needs to go jogging often.
No big deal... ..Loh, i think you must be referring to Tommy Susanto. Yeah, he's from London, as that's what's stated on his profile..But i think he was just teasing, eventhough a bit on the harsh side..
I have been pondering, for these superseries events. what is the cost to be an audience of these live events? and for tickets, is it like an all day pass , where you can just stay there and watch. is there specific seating? are the tickets valid for only one match? like how and what are the tickets sold by?
aznjjchan, here's more info on the Singapore Open tickets and tournament schedule. You can either buy a one-day ticket or season pass for normal/premium seats (free seating). You can purchase the tickets online or at the ticketing booth located at the Singapore Indoor Stadium (SIS). http://www.singaporebadmintonopen.com/en/tickets/?sec=119&ssec=322 http://www.singaporebadmintonopen.com/en/home/?sec=125&ssec=331
i don't see how a 10 kilometer run would take kkk almost two hours to complete. that is absolutely rediculous unless he is very out of shape. and we all know that kkk being out of shape is horribly untrue. and i dont' see how running 10 kilometers is a punishment. its not an outrageous distance at all! the news guys got it wrong...
too bad misbun didnt employ the LYB rule, hafiz must yield to lcw since lcw won the first game. Instead, hafiz blew his energy beating lcw and has nothing left for later
Aviva S'pore Open... LOL!! Most of the INA players come to the hall in SLIPPERS!! Salute to them!! Especially, Flandy, Sigit n Fran that in the end influenced Nova to wear slippers too.... -_-"
