Hmm...just browsed their website...and it seems that today will be qualifying rounds and MS Round 1/64! So, here's some interesting matches..not much though...and other seeded players should go through the next round with ease. MS ROUND 1/64: Chan Yan Kit (9/16) vs Mohd Roslin Hashim (MATCH OF THE ROUND) -- Roslin should prevail..despite the Hong Kong player being seeded. He and Sairul performed better in the MO last week than the national squad players such as Yeoh Kay Bin, Lee Tsuen Tseng, and esp the unlucky Kuan Beng Hong (as quoted from the Star). Yap Kim Hock further hinted that a massive change will occur in the men's singles setup right after the WC and Asian Games. It looks likely that Lee Tsuen Tseng will go. Zhu Weilun vs Boonsak Ponsana (9/16) -- another early exit for the Chinese young player. Just curious...how old is he? Tommy Sugiarto vs Ng Wei (5/8) -- it gets easier, isn't it...from Chen Yu, Peter Gade...and now Ng Wei in 3 consecutive events. Ng Wei should win...although I hope Tommy can sneak a surprise. Nguyen Tien Minh vs Andrew Smith -- both have impressed in the SO...and I hope the Viet player win. -- the 2 nemesis...Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei both have byes so they will only start their campaign tomorrow
Nguyen Tien Minh vs Andrew Smith -- both have impressed in the SO...and I hope the Viet player win. Agree that both were impressive, for Andrew Smith he got into SO 1/16, and Philippines open QF, in MO he beat Chetan Anand but lost to Chen Jin. Wonder if BCers in UK can share more info about him (checked his bio on the badminton england website already). I watched Smith in SO and noticed that he didn't even have a coach with him courtside. He uses AT800off so that's unusual already
It's good that they have the MS 1st round a day earlier than normal, although that's only because there are no qualifying rounds for MS. I find that the congestion in the early rounds sometimes mean that the ladies have to be sacrificed to play first two rounds within hours (like in SO recently).
Notice that in the qualifying Huang Chia-Hsin and Lee Hyun Jin have to fight for the same spot in the main draw. Jun Jae-Youn is also in the qualifiers (in another section). These Korean girls are starting from the bottom. Hope they can reach somewhere more reflecting their strength soon. In the MD qualifiers, I notice Chew Choon Eng paired with Chor Hooi Yee. Ex-BAM players sure know how to have fun.
Andrew Smith Ya...iI noticed that he doesn't have a coach when he was here in Singapore Open. He was a very interesting player. My friends and I cheered for him "Smith !, Smith" when he was facing his indian opponent! Too bad i am unable to get an autograph from him. I hop he wins ! Good Luck Smith !
Andrew Smith My personal details Date of Birth: 3 June 1984 Place of Birth: Portsmouth Living: Portchester, Hampshire Right/Left hand: Right Height: 5 ft 10in Racket: Armortec 800 Sponsors: Yonex Highest world ranking: 21 Highest national ranking: 2 About me on court Event(s): Men’s Singles Coach David Hunt County/Team: Hampshire Started badminton at age: 7 yrs old How I got started: Mum and Dad took me to local Sports Hall Ambition as badminton player: To get as good as I can get First represented England: World Championships 2003 Season’s best performance: Australian Open winner Best performance of career: Yet to come Major national achievements: English Nationals 2003 (semi-finals) Major international achievements: New Zealand, Australia Open winner Biggest disappointment: Not selected for 2003 Sudirman Cup Favourite tournament: All England Toughest opponent: Lin Dan Best friend on the circuit: Many friends around the world The one change I would make to improve my sport: More media coverage for the sport worldwide About me off court My occupation/ professional qualification: Student My hobbies/ pets: Golf, music Most embarrassing thing happening to me: Having a big hole in my shorts and not noticing until the end of the match. Favourite food: Any type of Curry Favourite city or country: Melbourne Favourite holiday destination: New Zealand If not badminton, then I would be A journalist My personality in a nutshell: Polite off-court. Relaxed on court but determined. From, http://www.badmintonengland.co.uk/
Selected results of MS ROUND 1/64: Lu Chi-Yuan lost to Poompat Sapkulchananart 9-21, 21-19, 19-21 -- the Thai no 2 singles player will play Lin Dan next. Chan Yan Kit lost to Mohd Roslin Hashim 18-21, 21-9, 10-21 Mohd Hafiz Hashim (WDN) lost to Chan Hao Cheng Chen Jin bt Yang Po Hsiang 21-8, 21-8 Kendrick Lee Yen Hui bt Lee Chen Yen 25-23, 21-8 Shih Kuei Chun bt Kuan Beng Hong (WDN) -- lucky for Kendrick and he should win tomorrow. Chu Han Chou lost to Yeoh Kay Bin 16-21, 21-16, 10-21 -- surprisingly it went to 3 sets...Yeoh must improve otherwise he might lose to Yuichi Ikeda tomorrow. Hsieh Yu-Hsin lost to Chen Hong 21-23, 21-19, 10-21 -- wow...the Chinese Taipei player nearly won. What happens to Chen Hong? Zhu Weilun lost to Boonsak Ponsana 22-24, 21-17, 11-21 -- also a close one for Boonsak..and Zhu yet again lost in the first round. Tommy Sugiarto lost to Ng Wei 16-21, 23-21, 14-21 -- an expected loss...but Tommy did well to push Ng Wei to 3 sets. The past 3 tournaments certainly give him confidence and experience. He lost to Chen Yu, Peter Gade, and now Ng Wei in sucession...but it bodes well for him! I hope he gives his best in the Asian Junior Championships and perhaps clinch a gold medal for Team Indonesia there! Nguyen Tien Minh bt Andrew Smith 21-18, 21-13 -- good one Minh...and he shouldn't have a problem beating the Korean player Hwang Jung Woon tomorrow. Chang Feng-Chin bt Eric Go 23-21, 21-7 -- LCW will face the Chinese Taipei player next.
WS Final Qualifying Rounds: Huang Chia-Hsin lost to Lee Hyun Jin 21-14, 16-21, 16-21 -- a close one for the Korean. Pai Min-Jie lost to Sachiyo Imai 18-21, 15-21 Jun Jae Youn bt Chen Hsih-Ying 21-12, 21-14 -- Jun earlier beat Chiu Yi-Ju in 3 close sets. WD Final Qualifying Rounds: Liu Hsu-Chih/Huang Pei-Rong lost to Ooi Sock Ai/Fong Chew Yen 21-19, 20-22, 13-21 XD Final Qualifying Rounds: Lee Chen-Yen/Peng Hsiao-Feng lost to Chew Choon Eng/Choor Hoi Yee 14-21, 12-21.
