Indonesians win again at ‘lucky’ venue MALAYSIA is a happy hunting ground for the Indonesian men's doubles pair of Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan. The duo put up a classy show yesterday to end the gallant run of Denmark's Lars Paaske-Jonas Rasmussen in the Malaysian Open, winning an entertaining 48-minute final 21-10, 20-22, 21-18. Last year, the Indonesians also stole the thunder at the Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil, emerging as the world champions. “We certainly like Malaysia. We have good results to show from here,” said the soft-spoken Hendra. Although, they have been achieving good results for Indonesia and are currently ranked as their country's number one, Markis-Kido are not rated in the same class as their two predecessors – Ricky Subagja-Rexy Mainaky and Candra Wijaya-Tony Gunawan. “Yes, they are our country's famed pair. No, we are certainly not on par with them. We will only consider that we are in the same rank as them when we win an Olympic gold medal – just like them,” said Hendra. “Winning the Malaysian Open is a good start for us. Now, we hope to maintain this and go all the way to win the gold medal in our first appearance at the Olympics in Beijing in August. On their main challengers for Olympic glory, Markis said: “It has to be Malaysia's Koo (Kien Keat)-Tan (Boon Heong). We have never beaten them in a tournament. The other pair is China's Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng.” Despite the defeat yesterday, world number 14 Rasmussen-Paaske felt that they had given indication of being the pair to watch out for this year. “We have beaten several top pairs here. We have made a statement here – that we are back to challenge for a medal at the Olympics,” said Rasmussen. Meanwhile, China went back home with two titles through Yang Wei-Zhang Jiewen in the women's doubles and He Hanbin-Yu Yang in the mixed doubles. Wow...very rarely does Kido/Hendra "expose" themselves to the media Must be Hau-Ge at work here....
I was there when they got interviewed...for sure Badzine seldom wanted to interview them...( hope Raphael reads this..hehe!)
It's No 4 for Chong Wei By Reports by K.M. Boopathy and Ajitpal Singhnstsport@nstp.com.my 21 January, 2008 LEE Chong Wei stormed to the Malaysia Open singles title yesterday at Putra Stadium to make amends for his failure at last year's World Championships. Chong Wei, slammed for his lost to Indonesia's Sony Dwi Kuncoro in the third round of the World Championships, this time played it smart against South Korean's Lee Hyun-Il to win 21-15, 11-21, 21-17. "The World Championships defeat was a blessing in disguise as I started winning again after that. Also, I am happy that the Putra Stadium jinx has come to an end," said an elated and relieved Chong Wei after the match. With yesterday's win, Chong Wei continues his affair with the Malaysia Open. He reached the final for the first time in 2003, then completed a hat-trick of titles between 2004 and 2006, and yesterday clinched his fourth in the presence of deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor. A relaxed Chong Wei was never in trouble as he led all the way to seal the first game 21-15. As is often the case, Hyun-Il began his customary fightback and an over-excited opponent helped his cause. The Korean crept to a 8-4 lead and Chong Wei was forced to play catch-up but Hyun-Il, showing a variety of strokes, raced on to a 21-11 win to set up a cracking decider. Chong Wei, realising that patience was the only way to subdue his opponent, engaged the Korean in long rallies and it paid off as he went into full flow to win 21-17. "I never really expected to win after playing with a fever from the first day but it is good to win the Malaysia Open for a fourth time," said Chong Wei. Hyun-Il said unforced errors in the third game had cost him dearly. "If I had cut down on those mistakes, I could have won," said Hyun-Il. From NST _________________________________________________________________ On Finals, now on to KO..............
from The Star Badminton: Chong Wei keeps his cool to sink Hyun-il STORIES By RAJES PAUL Badminton fans in the Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil erupted in joy yesterday when national number one Lee Chong Wei smashed his way to his fourth Malaysian Open title in five years. The top seeded Chong Wei came through unscathed despite immense pressure to beat South Korean Lee Hyun-il, who is the protege of the Malaysian’s former coach, Li Mao, 21-15, 11-21, 21-17 in a 62-minute final. And after the victory, Li Mao gave him a hug and a pat on the back. The 25-year-old Chong Wei have thus broken a jinx for Malaysian badminton at the Putra Stadium. Malaysia had suffered the humiliation of failing to qualify for the semi-finals of the 2000 Thomas Cup Finals staged at the venue. And last year, Malaysian shuttlers, led by Chong Wei, failed miserably to win at the World Championships. “I am happy that I have finally brought joy in this stadium for Malaysian fans. I lost here during the world championships and it feels good to get it right today,” said the world No. 2, who lost tamely to Indonesian Sony Dwi Kuncoro in the world meet. “I did not have a good start ... fever and stomachache in this Malaysian Open. And I am satisfied that I managed to pull through and won the title back,” said Chong Wei, who lost in the quarter-finals last year. It was certainly not easy for Chong Wei, especially when the 28-year-old Hyun-il turned on the aggression in the second game. The Korean kept up the pressure in the decider but the Malaysian stayed composed to romp home. “It was obvious that Li Mao told him my weak points and Hyun-il tried his best to break my rhythm, especially in the second game. But I stayed calm in the rubber. I hope to maintain this approach in every tournament,” said Chong Wei. There is a possibility of him meeting Hyun-il again in the second round of the Korean Open, which begins on Wednesday. Chong Wei’s win makes him the second best Malaysian player on home soil. The late Wong Peng Soon holds the record with his eight titles. A disappointed Hyun-il said: “It is still a good start for me. I am currently ranked 28th in the world and I hope to break into the top 16 to get a place in the Beijing Olympics.” Li Mao said that Chong Wei handled the pressure well. “That is very crucial for him. But I am happy with Hyun-il. This is his best performance since I took charge a year ago,” said the Chinese coach.
Also from The star On WS, the "Chinese Killer" Rasmussen beats world champ Zhu Lin despite ankle injury A TWISTED ankle did not stop Tine Rasmussen from winning the Malaysian Open women's singles title in a superb fashion yesterday. The 28-year-old Dane continued to prove to be the Chinese players' nightmare. She played magnificently to beat reigning world champion Zhu Lin of China for the first time. Rasmussen won the final 18-21, 21-19, 21-18 in 69 minutes. In the rubber game, it looked as though the game would end prematurely when Rasmussen twisted her ankle when she led the defending champion 14-12. But thanks to immediate treatment by the team's physiotherapist and her boyfriend, Martin Baun, Rasmussen returned to the court. “The injury was really bad and I had my ankle taped. But I was not troubled by the pain ... the adrenalin was already high. I told myself that I could not stop at this stage and the rest is unbelievable,” said a delighted Rasmussen. “When I came to Malaysia, I was not even sure that I would survive the early rounds. Now, I have beaten all the Chinese players and that is a great thing for me.” The win yesterday proved that her first Open title in Japan last year was no fluke. Then, she defeated several Chinese top guns to emerge as the champion. “I proved again to everybody and to myself that I can do this (beating Chinese players to win titles). The support from the crowd was uplifting. I felt the whole arena was behind me. This is an incredible place to win my second major title,” said Rasmussen. She added that the win had given her the psychological boost in her bid to win an Olympic gold medal at Beijing in August. “I made progress over the last one year, mentally believing that the Chinese players are beatable. I have proved it by beating them. And the Malaysian player (Wong Mew Choo) has also done the same (beating the Chinese to win the China Open last year). Many others can make it happen too,” said Rasmussen. When how she measured up with former Danish star Camilla Martin, Rasmussen said: “I have two titles but she had won 15 or more. This has nothing to do with Camilla. She is one of a kind. I want to be just Tine and continue to show that the Danish women's singles is still on top.” National coach Thomas Stuer Lauridsen said: “She is our 'Chinese killer'. But she is one against the many Chinese. China will always be the favourite but now Tine has placed herself as a serious contender for an Olympic medal.”
From The Star On the Gang of Four..... Yap wants quitting quartet to return CHIEF coach Yap Kim Hock has urged the four doubles players who wanted to quit to return to the national fold. He gave them an assurance that they would still be part of the Badminton Association of Malaysia's plans for the 2012 London Olympics. On Friday, world number 19th Tan Bin Shen-Ong Soon Hock and 35th ranked Gan Teik Chai-Lin Woon Fui handed in their resignation letters to the BAM and said that they wanted out from the elite programme. Without any outstanding results under their belts and a lack of tournament opportunities, both pairs wanted to seek better fortunes elsewhere. Kim Hock said that he was still hopeful that the four players would reconsider. “They are still young and I hope they will stay on much longer. They will not make it for the Beijing Olympics in August but they have chances for the next one (in London),” said Kim Hock. “I know that the management are trying to increase their salaries too. My only concern is their reasons for leaving the team. I will be really disappointed if they are leaving because of better offers elsewhere. It should not be about money alone but about badminton.” There are four pairs left in the elite squad under Rexy Mainaky. They are world No. 1 Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong, veterans Choong Tan Fook-Lee Wan Wah, Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif-Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari and Hoon Thien How-Tan Wee Kiong.
