Shuttlers eye rich harvest

Discussion in 'Commonwealth Games 2006 Badminton' started by ants, Mar 12, 2006.

  1. ants

    ants Regular Member

    Joined:
    Jul 19, 2002
    Messages:
    13,202
    Likes Received:
    51
    Occupation:
    Entrepreneur , Modern Nomad
    Location:
    Malaysian Citizen of the World
    TheStar
    March 13th

    The mascot for the Commonwealth Games is “Karak”, a south-eastern red-tailed black cockatoo.

    And like the bird, the Malaysian badminton team led by the world number two Lee Chong Wei will be out to soar high in Melbourne with their best-ever showing in the Commonwealth Games series.

    The badminton competition starts with the mixed team event on Thursday.

    Badminton has always contributed at least one gold medal for the country since the sport was introduced at the Kingston Games in 1966.

    And there is a possibility for Malaysia to surpass their best medal haul of three gold medals achieved at KL 1998 and Manchester 2002.

    The 24-year-old Chong Wei is looking forward to making a golden debut at the Games.

    “The hope is on me to win the singles gold medal. But my teammate (Wong) Choong Hann will also be a strong challenger,” said Chong Wei.

    “Under the new scoring format (21 points in best-of-three games rally scoring), I cannot underestimate him.”

    The Penangite added that he would not put undue pressure on himself.

    “I wanted so much to win in the 2004 Athens Olympics and last year's Manila SEA Games. I was very confident but I did not achieve my targets. Those were bitter experiences for me,” he said.

    “In Melbourne, I want to enjoy the game. The Games are held every four years and I want to make the best of it.”

    In Athens, Chong Wei was beaten by Chen Hong of China in a closely contested third round match and at the Manila Games, he went down tamely to Simon Santoso of Indonesia.

    If Chong Wei wins the title in Melbourne, he will be the sixth Malaysian winner after Tan Aik Huang (Kingston 1966), Punch Gunalan (Kingston 1974), Rashid Sidek (Auckland 1990 and Victoria 1994), Choong Hann (KL 1998) and Mohd Hafiz Hashim (Manchester 2002).

    Except for the mixed doubles event, Chong Wei said that Malaysia also had realistic chances to challenge for gold medals in all the other events – women's singles and doubles, men's doubles and mixed team.

    “Our men's doubles are strong and they will be going all out to make it a 1-2 finish,” he said.

    The fight for the gold medal will be between Chan Chong Ming-Koo Kien Keat and the scratch pair of Choong Hann-Choong Tan Fook.

    But the Malaysians should not discount the threat from England's Robert Blair-Anthony Clark, who beat Indonesia's Candra Wijaya-Sigit Budiarto in the Hong Kong Open last year.

    “Our women have showed improvement and that has increased our chances to win the mixed team gold. We are likely to play against defending champions England in the final. If we play our hearts out, we can upset them,” said Chong Wei, the Swiss Open champion.

    Wong Mew Choo is also a good bet to become the second Malaysian to win the women's singles gold medal after Sylvia Ng's victory in Edmonton in 1978. Her main rivals will be defending champion Li Li of Singapore, England's Tracey Hallam and India's Aparna Popat.

    In the women's doubles, Malaysia will bank on Chin Eei Hui-Wong Pei Tty to defend the title won by Lim Pek Siah-Ang Li Peng at the 2002 Manchester Games.

    In the mixed doubles, England's Nathan Robertson-Gail Emms, the silver medallists at the Athens Olympics are the heavy favourites. The Malaysia pairs in the fray are Kien Keat-Pei Tty and Choong Hann-Ooi Sock Ai.

    Competition dates: March 16-26

    Venue: Melbourne Exhibition Centre

    Events: Men's and women's singles and doubles; mixed doubles and team.

    MEDALS AT STAKE: 6-6-6



    TEAM MALAYSIA

    Manager: Ahmad Mohd Idris

    Coaches: Yap Kim Hock (chief coach), Cheah Soon Kit (women's doubles), Rexy Mainaky (men's doubles), Li Mao (men's singles).

    Men: Lee Chong Wei, Wong Choong Hann, Choong Tan Fook, Chan Chong Ming-Koo Kien Keat.

    Women: Wong Mew Choo, Julia Wong, Ooi Sock Ai, Chin Eei Hui-Wong Pei Tty.

    PREVIOUS ACHIEVEMENTS



    G S B

    Kingston 1966 2 2 1

    Edinburgh 1970 1 1 1

    Christchurch 1974 1 0 3

    Edmonton 1978 1 2 1

    Brisbane 1982 1 0 1

    Edinburgh 1984 did not take part

    Auckland 1990 2 2 0

    Victoria 1994 2 2 2

    Kuala Lumpur 1998 3 4 0

    Manchester 2002 3 3 3
     

Share This Page