Chinese Taipei Open News

Choong Hann storms into third round in Taiwan

TAIWAN: Malaysia's No. 1 Wong Choong Hann moved into the third round of the Taiwan Open badminton championships after overcoming Thai ace Boonsak Polsana and fellow Malaysian Pei Wei Chung in the men's singles event at the National Taiwan University here yesterday.

Choon Hann, seeded third, defeated Boonsak, the recent runner-up in last week's Hong Kong Open, in three games winning 15-9, 8-15, 15-6.

The Malaysian, ranked No. 5 in the world, played an aggressive attacking game to win the first game 15-9. The wily Thai read Choong Hann's game in the second to secure a 15-8 win.

The Malaysian southpaw piled on the pressure again in the third game to take it at 15-6.

It was a one-sided affair in the match against Wei Chung later last night. Choong Hann romped through with a 15-4, 15-4 win to set up a third round meeting with Denmark's Peter Gade-Christensen.

However, all five Malaysian doubles pairs were shown the exit in the first round.

Malaysia's top pair Choong Tan Fook and Lee Wan Wah, who had a good run in the Hong Kong Open where they ended up as runners-up, were a big disappointment last night.

They were whipped by South Korea's world No.1 pair Ha Tae-kwon and Kim Dong-moon. The Malaysian, who had beaten the same pair in the third round of the Hong Kong Open, lost 2-15, 12-15.

Tan Fook and Wan Wah were simply overwhelmed in the first game by the Koreans' fast pace. It was the same story in the second game as the Koreans kept up their aggressive play to walk off with a straight game victory.

The other three pairs who were shown the exit in the first round were Hong Chien Hun-Lin Woon Fui, Gan Teik Chai- Koo Kien Keat and Tan Bin Shen-Ong Soon Hock.

Teik Chai and Kien Keat gave a good fight against Danish pair Michael Lamp and Den Mathias before going down 9-15, 15-12, 13-15.

 

Choong Hann faces Indon ace Taufik for place in semis

TAIPEI: National number one Wong Choong Hann reached the quarter-finals of the men's singles event in the Taiwan Open badminton championships after a straight game victory over Denmark's Peter Gade-Christensen at the National Taiwan University here yesterday.

The 26-year-old Choong Hann took less than an hour to beat the Dane with a convincing 15-13, 15-10 win in the third round of the US$150,000 tournament.

A tough encounter awaits the world number four Choong Hann as his next opponent is Indonesia ace Taufik Hidayat.


CHOONG HANN: Defeated Denmark's Peter Gade-Christensen 15-13, 15-10 in the third round yesterday.
The 22-year-old Taufik, the reigning Indonesian Open champion, defeated Kennevic Asuncion of the Philippines 15-12 , 15-7 to set-up the meeting with Choong Hann.

Choong Hann is the sole Malaysian representative in the men's singles after veteran Ong Ewe Hock and Pei Wei Chung crashed out in the early rounds.

Malaysia's challenge also ended in the women's and mixed doubles yesterday.

Manchester Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Chin Eei Hui-Wong Pei Tty lost 8-15, 4-15 to South Korean Hwang Yu-mi-Lee Hyo-jung in the second round. They had beaten Nicole Grether-Juliane Schenk of German 15-12, 15-11 in the opening round.

In the mixed doubles, Gan Teik Chai-Fong Chew Yen, proved they will not be a medal contender in the Vietnam SEA Games, when they were tamed 2-15, 2-15 by Indonesian Nova Widianto-Vita Marissa.

In the first round, the duo had defeated Spain's Crespo Jose Antonio-Marco Dolores 15-5, 15-10.

 

Another scalp for Wong

TAIPEI: National singles shuttler Wong Choong Hann defeated an uninspiring Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia to reach the semi-finals of the US$150,000 Taiwan Open at the National Taiwan University here yesterday.

Choong Hann, a miserable early round casualty in the German Open last month, bounced back to give a much better account of himself, beating the 22-year-old Indonesian star convincingly 15-12, 15-4 win in the quarter-finals of the five-star tournament.

It was the 26-year-old Choong Hann's third win – and his easiest – in his five meetings with Taufik.

The Indonesian Open champion Taufik is obviously distracted with his problems back home where he is no longer a member of the national team. He is also without a coach since the Danish Open in September.

Choong Hann, however, faces a much harder task in the semi-finals today against top seed Lee Hyun-il of South Korea.

Yesterday, the fiery Korean blew away Hong Kong's Ng Wei 15-7, 15-4 in another quarter-final match to set-up the meeting with Choong Hann.

The Malaysian had lost to the South Korean at the quarter-finals of the Busan Asian Games last year.

It was Choong Hann's only defeat in the three meetings over Hyun-il.

The other men's singles semi-finals will be between second seed Kenneth Jonassen of Denmark and two-time Asian Badminton Championships (ABC) champion Sony Dwi Kuncoro of Indonesia.

Yesterday, Jonassen defeated compatriot Niels Christian Kaldau 15-12, 15-5 while Sony, who is currently the top ranked Indonesian player, eliminated South Korean Shon Seung-mo with a convincing 15-9, 15-9 win.

 

Choong Hann sends top seed Hyun-il reeling in semis

TAIPEI: National number one Wong Choong Hann produced a sensational win over top seed Lee Hyun-il of South Korea yesterday to reach his second men's singles final in an international tournament this year at the US$150,000 Taiwan Open.

The 26-year-old Choong Hann had been expected to face an uphill task instead but ripped apart the Busan Asian Games gold medallist with a convincing 15-6, 15-11 win in the semi-finals at the Taiwan National University.

Today, he will take on the two-time Asian Badminton Championships (ABC) champion Sony Dwi Kuncoro of Indonesia in the final.

The 19-year-old Indonesia, the world number seven, outclassed second seeded Kenneth Jonassen of Denmark with a stunning 15-12, 15-2 win in the semi-final.

For Choong Hann, the win over the Dutch and German Open champion Hyun-il yesterday was a sweet revenge after losing to the Korean in the last eight of the Asiad last year.

The jubilant Malaysian, in a telephone interview from Taiwan after his astounding win, said: “The first game against Hyun-il was easier than I expected. He was hesitating to send the shuttle to the back because there was draft from his side. This gave me a lot of space to intercept his shots.”

But the gritty Korean bounced back with stronger performances in the second game.

“I was under some pressure in the second game. I was being pushed to the back most of the time. The Korean took a 10-6 lead. I did not want the match to go into rubber game and I fought back. I was able to level the score at 11-11. Then, I got my act right and got four points in a row to win the match,” said Choong Hann.

Just three months ago, the lanky shuttler became the first Malaysian to reach the final of the World Championships at Birmingham. But he was beaten by China's Xia Xuanze in the final.

Determined to win his first title of the year, Choong Hann has vowed to give Sony a run for his money.

“I am in good form and I should be able to beat him. I will certainly try to stay focused during the match and go all out for my first title of the year,” he added.

Based on the Malaysian-Indonesian past results, Choong Hann holds the edge.

In the last three meetings this year, the Malaysian has beaten Sony twice at the last eight stages in the world meet and the Malaysian Open in September respectively. Sony's only win over Choong Hann was at the Swiss Open in March.

 

Choong Hann lifts Taiwan Open singles crown

BY RAJES PAUL
PETALING JAYA: National number one Wong Choong Hann staged a remarkable comeback to beat youngster Sony Dwi Kuncoro of Indonesia to win his first international men's singles title this year in the US$150,000 Taiwan Open in Taipei yesterday.

The 26-year-old shuttler survived an early scare before overcoming the two-time Asian Badminton Championships (ABC) champion Sony with a 3-15, 15-7, 15-4 win in the final at the National Taiwan University.

An ecstatic Choong Hann, who pocketed US$9,000 (RM34,200), said in a telephone interview from Taipei: “I really wanted to win my first title for the year and I am glad I was able to pull it off. It was certainly a tough draw for me.”

“Besides winning the title for myself, I want to dedicate this victory to Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali. She has been very supportive, helpful and caring towards me and the badminton players. I hope this victory will make her very happy although it comes a week late,” said Choong Hann.

Siti Hasmah, a patron of the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM), is the wife of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who stepped down as the Malaysia's Prime Minister on Oct 31.

It was the third consecutive time that Choong Hann's had beaten 19-year-old after his sole defeat to the Indon at the Swiss Open in March.

It also ended Choong Hann's wait for an Open title this year after the Malaysian let slip a golden opportunity to become the first Malaysian world champion. Then, he crashed in the final hurdle against China's Xia Xuanze in the World Championships at Birmingham just three months ago.

The victory yesterday was only Choong Hann's fourth Open title in his six-year badminton career. The other titles are the Dutch Open (1997 and 2002) and China Open last year.

It was however, a tough first game for the Malaysian yesterday.

“I was against the wind in the hall. Sony was controlling the pace of the game and most of my shots landed out.

“He was so stable and I found it very difficult to penetrate his defence,” he said.

“But I made full use of the advantage of the draft in the second but he did not give up easily.

“He was attacking and we were tied 7-7. Then, I broke his rhythm of play and went all the way to win.

“He used up too much of energy in the second game and I knew it was my game in the rubber.”

Based on his fiery form in the Taiwan Open, Choong Hann should be in good stead to defend his China Open crown when the competition starts at the Tianhe Gymnasium in Guangzhou on Wednesday.

But this time, he will have to brace himself against Chinese players like Lin Dan, Xia Xuanze, Bao Chunlai and Chen Hong, who had given the Taiwan Open a skip in an effort to find glory at home.

 

Sport: Badminton: For you Tun Siti
S.S. Dhaliwal

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IN appreciation of the contributions of Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali towards the promotion and development of badminton in the country, Wong Choong Hann has dedicated his victory at the Taiwan Open to the nation's No 1 fan.

Choong Hann was crowned the Taiwan Open singles champion at the Taiwan National University after coming from behind to defeat Indonesian Sony Dwi Kuncoro 3-15, 15-7, 15-4.

It was Choong Hann's first title this year after he lost in the final of the World Championships in Birmingham last July.

"This win is dedicated to our patron (Dr Siti). She has done so much for the shuttlers over the years," said Choong Hann.

"It is my little way of saying thank you for what she has strived to ensure that badminton brings success to Malaysia.

"I hope to see her upon my return after the China Open and present her with the medal I won today (yesterday)." Choong Hann had a better record going into the final against Sony, having won the last two meetings – at the World Championship and Malaysian Open in September. But the Indonesian, whose only career win over Choong Hann was in the Swiss Open in March, came with an awesome reputation as he had won the Asian championships twice, the last being in October.

That did not put off Choong Hann one bit as he went onto the court with a single aim – to end his title drought and remain focussed throughout the match.

However, it was his tactical decision before the start of the contest that swung the match in favour of the 26-year-old Malaysian.

"I won the toss and opted to pick the half of the court which had the draught behind it," said Choong Hann.

"That is why he won the first set easily as he did not have to control his shots whereas most of mine were either out or were killed by him.

"The second set was a different story altogether as this time he had to do the thinking and that put pressure on him.

"I continued to employ my attacking game and had him back pedalling and forced him into conceding points." Choong Hann said that the win was largely due to the fact that he had benefitted from the high quality sparring sessions in training.

Choong Hann trains with Mohamed Hafiz Hashim, Roslin Hashim, Lee Chong Wei and Lee Tsuen Seng under the watchful eyes of Misbun Sidek.

"Misbun told me to stick to my style of play but increased the workload in terms of fitness training which has really helped me improve my game," said Choong Hann.