Real test for Mew Choo

TheStar
PETALING JAYA: It will be a tall order for national women's singles player Wong Mew Choo to win all her matches in the Sudirman Cup world mixed team championships, which begin in Beijing tomorrow.

But Mew Choo is not going to give up trying.

The smiles are back once again on the petite 22-year-old Mew Choo, who burst into recognition by winning the Vietnam SEA Games gold medal two years ago.

She has appeared again on the international arena early this year after an eight-month absence.


MEW CHOO: Back in the international scene after an eight-month absence.
Mew Choo, who came down with multiple injuries before Sukma (Malaysia Games) in May last year, showed promising signs that she is ready to take on the challenge by winning the Kedah Open title last month.

It was her first title on the local circuit in two years and Mew Choo said that it had certainly given her the confidence to go for bigger challenges.

“It is just the local circuit but it means a lot to me. It has been some time since I won any competition. It took me a long time to recover and I hope things will turn out well for me now,” said Mew Choo before leaving with the national team for Beijing on Saturday.

Mew Choo is expected to shoulder Malaysia's challenge in the women's singles along with debutant Julia Wong.

A lot will be riding on her performance and her ability to win a point to help swing Malaysia's chances of winning the crucial ties.

Malaysia are in Division Two and have set their sights on gaining promotion to Division One.

Malaysia begins their campaign against Taiwan tomorrow followed by ties against Russia (May 11) and Holland (May 12).

The other group in Division Two comprises Japan, Singapore, Germany and Ukraine. The group winners will go into a playoff for the one promotion ticket.

Mew Choo has promised to go all out to help Malaysia win a point if she is fielded.

“My condition is okay so far after two weeks of training with the team. My coaches (Li Mao and Wong Tat Meng) have put me to train with the men and it has helped improve on my endurance, which I lacked previously,” she said.

Among the top players Mew Choo may have to face in the tie against Holland are their current world number four Yao Jie or former Indonesian top singles player Mia Audina.

Holland can also opt to pair these two players up for the women's doubles.

“Even if I cannot beat them, I will try to make them tired and hopefully, it will help our team when it comes to the women's doubles later,” said Mew Choo.

National head coach Yap Kim Hock was full of praise for Mew Choo.

“I admire her fighting spirit. She shows very good attitude in training and feels bad if she loses. I hope she plays well and hopefully, it will inspire others in the team too.”

In the last Sudirman Cup outing, Mew Choo turned the tables on world number nine Kaneko Yonekura to help Malaysia beat Japan 3-2 and win a place in the promotion playoff for Division One against Hong Kong.

However in the playoff, Mew Choo lost to Hong Kong's China-born and world number two player Wang Chen.

Malaysia lost 2-3 to Hong Kong and remained in Division Two.