Choong Hann to focus on Jakarta

WONG Choong Hann has withdrawn from the Asian Badminton Championships which begins in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday, to focus on his preparations for next month’s Thomas Cup finals in Jakarta.

Choong Hann, the World No 4, has already qualified for the Athens Olympics and is not worried about missing the Asian Championships, the last qualifying event, but is looking for a winning performance in the Thomas Cup Finals which will be held at the Senayan Stadium on May 7-16.

Having reached the Korea Open semi-finals two weeks ago, Choong Hann lost in the third round of the Japan Open to eventual champion Ronald Susilo of Singapore last Thursday.

The Japan Open was Choong Hann’s fourth tournament in six weeks and the Malaysian wants to spend more time in training to be in top condition for the Thomas Cup finals.

"Most of the top players have skipped the Asian Championships after going through a hectic schedule and I also felt that it would better to focus in training," said Choong Hann yesterday.

"By giving the Asian Championships a miss, I will be able go through four weeks of intensive training, and hopefully, be in a good shape for the Thomas Cup.

"I could not sustain my performance in the Japan Open and it will be hard to regain form immediately for the Asian Championships.."

Except for World No 3 Lee Hyun Il of South Korea and World No 6 Xia Xuanze of China, the rest of the top eight players will not be competing in the Asian Championships and Choong Hann could have been one of the favourites for the title next week had he decided to play.

However, the top ranked Malaysian would rather forfeit the opportunity to win his first title and improve his world ranking as the Thomas Cup is his priority.

Roslin Hashim will be Malaysia’s best bet in Asian Championships while Lee Chong Wei and Hafiz Hashim will also be hoping to capitalise on the absence of the top shuttlers.

The fact that no prize money will be offered in the four-star event will not be of concern to Chong Wei who said that he wants to make amends for a poor outing in the Japan Open. Chong Wei lost to South Korean back-up player Park Sung Hwan in the first round in Tokyo.

"The tournament is still tough with Xuanze and Hyun Il around but I will give it my best shot."

Chong Wei is currently ranked World No 12th and if he can make at least the quarter-finals next week, he should be able to earn his ticket to the Olympics.


NST