Olympic spots and a Thomas Cup boost at stake at the ABC

By RAJES PAUL (Star)

ASIAN BADMINTON CHAMPIONSHIPS, JOHOR BARU APRIL 15-20

SOME will be vying for a spot to the Beijing Olympic Games while others are out to gain timely boosts ahead of the Thomas Cup Finals.

But the dream remains for most to see a probable men’s singles finale between Lee Chong Wei and Lin Dan of China.

With so much in store, expect a week of great matches and dramas in the Asian Badminton Championships (ABC), which begins today with the men and women singles first round actions at the Bandaraya Stadium.

The doubles event will begin tomorrow. The ABC is the last tournament that offers Olympic ranking points for Asian players.

It is also the last tournament before the world badminton fraternity shift their attention to Jakarta next month for the Thomas Cup Finals.

Barring any upsets, the top two seeds Lin Dan and Chong Wei should make it to the final. And it could be a prelude of what to expect from them in the Thomas Cup Finals and the Beijing Games.

But national chief coach Yap Kim Hock feels that China’s Chen Jin will be the biggest threat in the men’s singles event at the ABC.

He thinks that Chen Jin’s compatriots will be out to clear the path for the world number four to squeeze into the Olympic Games as China’s third qualifier.

Chen Jin is in the same half with Lin Dan, Chen Yu, South Korean Lee Hyun-il and Wong Choong Hann.

World second-ranked Chong Wei’s first real test will be against Bao Chunlai of China in the semi-finals. In their half are World Championships runner-up Sony Dwi Kuncoro of Indonesia, South Korean Park Sung-hwan and Mohd Hafiz Hashim.

World No. 16 Choong Hann, who will be out to consolidate his place in the top 16 in the world to seal a place in the Olympics, said that the Chinese would be the players to beat.

“But Malaysia still has a chance to win the title although it will not be easy. Chong Wei will be our best bet,” said Choong Hann. “I will be happy to reach at least the quarter-finals.”

Other Malaysians have also an agenda in the ABC.

A beleaguered Hafiz would be eager to show that his Achilles tendon injury that forced him out of the Swiss Open is nothing to worry about ahead of the Thomas Cup Finals.

And Yeoh Kay Bin’s dream of making it to his very first Thomas Cup Finals hinges on how he fares in the ABC.