PETALING JAYA: The confusion over the draw for the Asian Badminton Championships (ABC) is finally over. Following many withdrawals, especially the seeded players for the four-star tournament, the draw had been changed three times with the latest held yesterday. The organiser was also forced to re-shuffle the draw again because Malaysia's top two singles players in the ABC - Mohd Roslin Hashim and Lee Chong Wei - were placed in the same half. Under the national separation rules, the top two players of a country must be separated. The ABC, which is the last Olympic qualifying tournament, starts tomorrow with the qualifying round at the Kuala Lumpur Badminton Stadium. The tournament proper is on Wednesday. The Asian Badminton Confederation (ABC) chief operation officer Karen Koh said that there would not be any more re-draw. “This is the confirmed list. Due to many withdrawals, we had to conduct a re-draw. The team managers meeting is tomorrow (today) and any more withdrawals will be considered as walkovers,” said Karen. Among the top players, who have pulled out at the last minute are China's Xia Xuanze, seeded second in the men's singles and Sang Yang-Zheng Bo, seeded second in the men's doubles. The latest draw, however, is a blessing for Malaysia's Olympic Games aspirants - Roslin and Chong Wei. The 29-year-old Roslin, seeded fourth, now has a good chance to reach the semi-finals. He has a smooth run to the quarter-finals and is expected to meet one of these players - Chen Yu of China, Park Tae-sang of South Korea and Hong Kong's Agus Hariyanto - for a place in the last four. “This is certainly a better draw for me. In the previous draw, I was supposed to play Boonsak Ponsana of Thailand in the third round. Then, in the second draw, I was down to meet Chong Wei in the last eight,” said Roslin, who will play a qualifier in the first round. He has a better record against his probable quarter-final opponents. He beat Tae-sang and Agus in the Thomas Cup Asian Zone qualifying round. He also defeated Chen Yu in the Swiss Open last month. The 22-year-old Chong Wei, seeded fifth, was thankful after the new draw. “In the first draw, there was a chance to reach the quarter-finals without any problem. Then, there was a change and I was drawn to meet Johan Hadikusumo (Hong Kong) in the first round. But now, there is a chance to go all the way to the third round. My likely opponent could be Indonesia's Taufik Hidayat,” said Chong Wei. “I have not played Taufik before. I will be out to give my best.” However, it is learnt that the world number 23rd Taufik may not be coming to the ABC meet. It will only be confirmed when the Indonesian team arrive today. However, the going will be tough for the other Malaysians in the fray. Lee Tsuen Seng, boosted by his inclusion in the Thomas Cup squad, will take on reigning Japan Open champion Ronald Susilo of Singapore in the second round; Mohd Hafiz Hashim will most probably take on top seed Lee Hyun-il of South Korea in the third round; Kuan Beng Hong is set to face Indonesian Sony Dwi Kuncoro in the second round; and Yeoh Kay Bin is likely to meet second seed Shon Seung-mo of South Korea. Following the withdrawal of world number six Sang Yang-Zheng Bo, Malaysia’s Chan Chong Ming-Chew Choon Eng are expected to meet Lee Dong-soo-Yoo Yong-song of South Korea, who have been upgraded as the second seeds, in the quarter-finals. Malaysia's Choong Tan Fook-Lee Wan Wah, seeded top in the ABC, are expected to play Indonesian Candra Wijaya-Halim Hariyanto in the quarter-finals. TheSTar
Asian Championships: Re-draw brings cheer to Roslin, Chong Wei THE Asian Badminton Confederation (ABC) were forced to conduct a re-draw of the Asian Championships for the second time in 24 hours in Kuala Lumpur yesterday, but the result brought cheer to national shuttlers Roslin Hashim and Lee Chong Wei. While Roslin, virtually sure of a place in the Olympics, can concentrate on possibly winning the title for the first time, Chong Wei’s chances of earning a ticket to Athens improved tremendously as some of his rivals now face a tougher passage in the new singles draw of the four-star event which begins tomorrow. Roslin and Chong Wei were in the same quarter of the previous draw and this forced ABC to conduct a re-draw. International Badminton Federation (IBF) rules do not allow the top two players from the same country to be drawn in the same quarter and as a result, Roslin is now in the easier second quarter. Roslin’s passage to the quarter-finals will be plain sailing as he is not drawn to meet any of the top 30 players in the third round. His first test is expected to be against joint third seed Chen Yu of China in the last eight. However, Roslin’s consistency on the international circuit this year is an indication that he is capable of beating Chen Yu and also topple top seed Lee Hyun Il of South Korea in an expected semi-final clash. Initially, Roslin was supposed to meet top Thai shuttler Boonsak Ponsana in the third round before a quarter-final showdown against either Chong Wei or Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia but he faces an easier task now. As for Chong Wei, who is in the third quarter of the draw, he still needs to get past Taufik in the third round to confirm his place in the Olympics. However, Chong Wei will be relieved that his rivals Ng Wei of Hong Kong and Park Tae Sang of South Korea, the players who can deny him a place in Athens should they reach the last eight in the Asian championships, have a difficult draw. Chong Wei, ranked World No 12, must remain in the top 16 at the end of the Olympic qualifying period on April 30 to clinch the third Olympic spot. Wong Choong Hann, ranked third, and Roslin, ranked 11th, are virtually through to the Olympics. Ng Wei, ranked 15th, and Tae Sang, ranked 17th, are capable of pushing Chong Wei out of the top 16 if they do well in the Asian championships next week. However, Ng Wei faces an uphill task against Thailand Open champion Boonsak in the third round while Tae Sang has a difficult third round match against Chen Yu. Chong Wei’s destiny is very much in his hands as he needs to reach at least the quarter-finals by beating Taufik. By doing so, Chong Wei doesn’t need to be too concerned about the results of his rivals and can stay focused in the tournament. Nst
