TheStar FEb 11 KELANA JAYA: It was a big blow for singles shuttler Mohd Hafiz Hashim when he was left out of the squad for the Melbourne Commonwealth Games. But the 24-year-old is hell bent on making a strong comeback in international tournaments, which will experiment with the 21-point, best-of-three games scoring format. His first task will be the Thomas Cup Asian Zone qualifying tournament in Jaipur, India, starting next Wednesday. His primary objective is the Thomas Cup Finals in Japan, scheduled for April 28-May 7. Hafiz admitted that he was demoralised after two early round defeats in the Swiss Open and All-England, which led to his exclusion from the Melbourne Games squad. The Games are scheduled to be held from March 15-26. “I am disappointed that I won’t be able to defend my title in Melbourne. I have to accept it because the selectors based it (the selection) on my performances in recent international outings,” said the lanky Hafiz after a training session at the Kelana Jaya hall here yesterday. “It was unfortunate that I lost to good players in the early rounds. It was a blow to my confidence but I have come out of it,” he said. Hafiz has not been impressive in four tournaments in a row since playing a crucial role in helping Malaysia win the team gold at the Manila SEA Games in December. He did not clear the group matches in the invitational tournaments –World Cup in Yiyang, China; and the Copenhagen Masters in Denmark. He also lost to Xia Xuanze of China in the second round of the Swiss Open and suffered a first round defeat to German Open champion Chen Jin of China in the All-England. Hafiz, however, is the only men’s singles player in the Malaysian team to have played under the new scoring format – at the World Cup. Despite his dislike for the new format, he is determined to master it. “For me, the new format has robbed the art of badminton. “Anyway, the format is good for new players and those with an attacking style of play. I will be out to adjust to it.”
