ATONEMENT, that is what the national shuttlers will be out to get when the All England badminton championships gets underway at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham today. Not only have the Malaysians lost valuable points in the race for a berth in the Athens Olympic Games in the just concluded Swiss Open last week, the failure of the men's singles players, with the exception of Roslin Hashim, to progress beyond the third round was a rude shock to the badminton community in the country. Coming fresh on the heels of Malaysia's creditable showing in the Asian Zone Thomas Cup qualifying round in Kuala Lumpur, where Malaysia finished second to China, hopes and expectations were high for a good showing in the Swiss Open in Basel. But All England men's singles defending champion Mohamed Hafiz Hashim crashed out in the first round, and Malaysia's World No 4 Wong Choong Hann, given a bye in the first round, was dumped by Chen Yu of China in the second round. Doubles pair Lee Tsuen Seng and Kuan Beng Hong were also shown the exit in the second round. Even the performance and results of the men's doubles pairs of Choong Tan Fook-Lee Wan Wah and Chew Choon Eng-Chan Chong Ming, expected to carry Malaysia's hopes of winning an Olympic medal, failed to provide any comfort nor assurance they will deliver in Athens. Which brings up the question of how Malaysia will fare in Birmingham, and more importantly, will another Malaysian win any of the titles at stake? Hafiz, in winning the title last year, struck when he was least expected to and to write off Malaysia's chances in the competition will not be wise. But inconsistency is still very much part of Malaysian sports and the shuttlers are no different. Whatever the reason or reasons for the poor showing in Basel, the All England provides the Malaysians with the perfect setting to redeem their pride and morale ahead of the Thomas Cup finals in Jakarta on May 7-16; and, the all-important Olympic Games in Athens on Aug 16-29. China, by bagging four out of the five titles in Basel, showed they are the ones to beat in the Thomas Cup, Uber Cup and Olympics. Except for the mixed doubles title in Switzerland, China swept all the other titles. For the All England, Kuan Beng Hong (men's singles), Wong Mew Choo (women's singles) and the men's and mixed doubles pairs of Gan Teik Chai-Koo Kien Keat and Teik Chai-Wong Pei Tty swing into action today in the qualifying rounds. Choong Hann, in a repeat of the Swiss Open draw, was given a first round bye but is likely to meet Hafiz in the second round. Roslin surprised the field and many Malaysians by making it to the last four of the Swiss Open, and given his draw, he may just do the same in Birmingham. Roslin's first real test will come in the third round where he is tipped to take on Kenneth Jonassen of Denmark or Thailand's Boonsak Polsana. A win against either one of them may set up a clash against World No 3 Chen Hong of China. In the men's doubles, both Malaysian pairs could face exit from the competition in the form of Indonesia's Candra Wijaya-Halim Haryanto, Thailand's Pramote Teerawiwatana-Tesana Panvisvas and Tri Kusharyanto-Sigit Budiarto, also of Indonesia. Winning the All England, any of the titles, will be a huge boost to all concerned, but ultimately, it is glory in the Olympics that Malaysians crave for the most. It is a feat which is not beyond the national shuttlers, but first, they have to believe they can do so and it can start right here at the All England championships. However, Malaysian players, are on par if not better than most of the Chinese players in terms of skill. What they seem to lack, however, is the mental resilience.
