TheStar Sept 21 WORLD number one Lee Chong Wei led all three Malaysian men's singles players into the third round of the World Championships at the Palacio de Deportes in Madrid yesterday. After receiving a first-round bye, Chong Wei opened his campaign with a 21-18, 21-14 win over German Bjoern Joppien. And the top seed immediately dedicated the Malaysians' strong showing yesterday to their teammate Chan Chong Ming, who had to leave for home following his father's death. “Before he left the team hotel, Chong Ming advised us all to do our best for Malaysia. And I was very determined to win my first match today,” said Chong Wei. “I am happy to get the first match out of the way. This tournament is different altogether compared with the other Open tournaments and I had to be very careful against Joppien.” The 24-year-old top seed admitted to feeling jittery against the German, who had the benefit of playing in the first round on Monday and therefore had the better knowledge of the court conditions. “My opponent was giving his best shots to score an upset win. I was struggling to get my act together in the first game and the pressure only lessened after I closed it out narrowly,” he said. Chong Wei will next take on Dane Joachim Persson in the third round today. Persson, who is seeded ninth-16th, is best known for delivering Denmark's winning point in the Thomas Cup semi-final tie against Malaysia in Tokyo in May. National number two Mohd Hafiz Hashim also advanced easily. He defeated Slovakian Michal Matejska 21-8, 21-10 and will play against Dicky Palyama of Holland today for a place in the quarter-finals. HUGE RELIEF: Malaysia’s Kuan Beng Hong pumps his fists to celebrate his 21-16, 9-21, 21-19 win over ninth-16th seed Przemyslaw Wacha of Poland in the men’s singles second round. But the biggest surprise of the day for Malaysia belonged to Kuan Beng Hong. He has finally bounced back from a major loss in confidence following his defeat by Persson in the decisive Thomas Cup match. Yesterday, he eliminated ninth-16th seed Przemyslaw Wacha of Poland 21-16, 9-21, 21-19 and a hyped-up Beng Hong pumped his fists and jumped for joy as though he had just captured a tournament title. “It was a very important win for me to prove that I have regained the confidence to play in a high-level competition,” said Beng Hong. “I could have wrapped it up in straight games if not for three consecutive bad line calls that went against me when I trailed 8-11 in the second game. In the third game, I chose to play it safe and directed all my smashes down the middle of the court.” Beng Hong faces a daunting task in the third round today against third seed Chen Jin of China. But national singles coach Li Mao feels that with renewed confidence, Beng Hong will be able to take the match to the two-time world junior champion. “Li Mao told me that I had broken the lack of confidence barrier, which has held me back all these while. He told me not to be afraid of anyone and that I can match Chen Jin if I believe in myself,” said Beng Hong.
It's forfeited already..walkover. But take heart that MAS still got the both remaining pairs in the hunt....tonite's gonna be a cracker! LWW/CTF vs Kiddo/Hendra
Still the same lame and unconfident KBH. Had to actually rely on his coach to inform him that he has broken the lack of confidence barrier? That's just weak. A truly confident person says:"I am confident of doing blablabla..." KBH says:" My coach tells me that I am confident of doing blablabla...". KBH is never going to be a great player. He is mentally too weak and immature.
Mate, that's so easy for you to say. Try to put yourself in his position and what's he's gone through. Right now, it IS the coach's job to rebuild his confidence. And he'll take every win he can get as a stepping stone in the right direction.
I will be happy if he clears Chen Jin. But it will be a very tough assignment. Still everything is possible if the mind and the legs are willing. KBH will lose many times to CJ before he gets to beat CJ -- very much like LCW. The more he plays these guys the more he will get to analyse his own faults.
However, the more times a player looses to another player, the harder it is to break the psychological barrier. LCW may have that barrier against Lin Dan.
Well let's face it. We're all on an online forum. It's easy for us to say anything. KBH may have gone through some tough patches of road in his badminton career. But most top players have to go through tough barriers somewhere along the way to reach where they are today. So, it's not like KBH had to overcome extraordinary odds. Anyway, I just don't think KBH has what it takes to go to the next level. He gives me the impression that he is mentally weak and immature. As a Malaysian, I was especially annoyed with this particular statement from him some time ago (before Thomas Cup 2006) when he was offered a chance to be coached under Li Mao: "I prefer to train under Misbun because I am already used to Misbun's style...". That's so immature and irrational. The number 1 rule in choosing a coach is whether you can improve under the coach or not. It's not whether you are used to a certain style or not, because that style may not be the correct style! He was reluctant to leave his comfort zone to seek improvement.
yeah, i'm not a big fan of KBH either. let's give him a chance though, my regard of him will climb steeply if he manages to beat CJ, which is a really tall order.
