BRAVE words followed the Beijing Olympics badminton draw yesterday but privately, the Malaysian shuttlers must know that if they are to end the long wait for gold, it will require superhuman effort.
In fact, Wong Choon Hann, Choong Tan Fook-Lee Wan Wah and Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong were left contemplating potential first round exits as they drew players who have held the upperhand against them in recent times.
Chong Wei, seeded second, received a first round bye but faces a potentially tricky second round match against Ronald Susilo of Singapore.
Ronald sent China's Lin Dan packing in the first round in Athens 2004 but if Chong Wei's recent form and confidence are anything to go by, he will not suffer the same fate.
That should be followed by a semi-final meeting with third seed Bao Chunlai of China, with the Malaysian 8-4 up in the head-to-head.
Further good news for Chong Wei is that while he avoided darkhorse Lee Hyun Il in the early rounds, Chunlai has to negotiate past the South Korean in the quarter-finals.
A win for Chong Wei will mean a final showdown with Lin Dan but for Wong Choong Hann, it could be over after just the first match.
The veteran plays Taufik in the second round, with both having drawn a first round bye, and it will be the second meeting between them at the Olympics. In Athens, Taufik swept past Choong Hann in the third round.
Tan Fook-Wan Wah open against All England runners-up Lee Jae Jin-Hwang Ji Man of South Korea in the first round.
Jae Jin-Ji Man beat Tan Fook-Wan Wah in their only meeting, in the quarter-finals of the Asian Badminton Championships this year.
If the veterans survive, their chances of making it to the semi-finals look good as they will meet either Indonesia's Luluk Hadiyanto-Alven Yulianto or Japan's Keita Masuda-Tadashi Ohtsuka in the quarter-finals. The Malaysians have a better track record against both pairs.
Their semi-final opponents are expected to be second seeds Fu Haifeng-Cai Yun of China and Tan Fook-Wan Wah lead 6-4 in the head-to-head.
It is even trickier for Kien Keat-Boon Heong as they will be playing bogeymen Shuichi Sakamoto-Shintaro Ikeda of Japan in the first round.
Japan's No 1 pair beat Kien Keat-Boon Heong in their last two meetings.
A win will most likely pit the Malaysians against top seeds Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan in the quarter-finals, provided the Indonesians overcome China's Guo Zhendong-Xie Zhongbo in the first round.
Kien Keat-Boon Heong have not lost in four meetings with Markis-Hendra.
Kien Keat-Boon Heong are expected to face South Koreans Jung Jae Sung-Lee Yong Dae, who have a difficult first round encounter against Denmark's Lars Paaske-Jonas Rasmussen, in the last four.
In the women's singles, eighth seed Wong Mew Choo should reach the last eight where she is expected to take on third seed Lu Lan of China.
Mew Choo has an outside chance of reaching the semi-finals as she has beaten Lu Lan twice in five previous meetings.
In the women's doubles, Wong Pei Tty-Chin Eei Hui are in for a rough ride as they take on fourth seeds Lee Kyung Wong-Lee Hyo Jung of South Korea in the first round.
New Straits Times
No comments:
Post a Comment