Sports -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- August 03, 2003 12:53 PM Siti Hasmah Pleased With Choong Hann's March Into Final PORT DICKSON, Aug 3 (Bernama) -- Malaysia's number one badminton fan, Datin Seri Dr Siti Hasmah Mohamed Ali, expressed her joy over Wong Choong Hann's advance to the final of the men's singles competition at the 13th World Championships in Birmingham, England. However the prime minister's wife said she was disappointed for not being able to watch the match live on television as she had to attend a dinner held in conjunction with the Prime Minister's Office Welfare and Sports Body Family Day at Guoman Hotel here Saturday night. She told Bernama this when met at the hotel here Sunday. In last night's semi-finals, Choong Hann defeated South Korea's Shon Seung-mo 15-4, 15-5 at the National Indoor Arena in a match which took 48 minutes. Choong Hann, the winner of the 2002 China and Dutch Open tournaments, will meet China's Xia Xuanze in the final Sunday night. Xuanze beat compatriot Bao Chunlai 15-11, 15-7 in the other semi-final match. Dr Siti Hasmah, who is the patron of the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM), hoped Choong Hann would be able to give his best in the final. She expressed confidence that Choong Hann had an equal chance of winning the world title, which would be the first for any Malaysian shuttler, if he kept his composure and deploy his strategy well in the game. "I will pray for Choong Hann's victory Sunday night. His triumph would be for all Malaysians," said Dr Siti Hasmah. -- BERNAMA
