Chen out for revenge in Kinabalu
Chen out for revenge in Kinabalu
Agencies, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
China's Chen Hong, losing finalist in last weekend's
Indonesian Open, starts as favorite in the men's singles event at
the US$120,000 Malaysia Open here on Wednesday, according to AFP.
Chen went down tamely to Indonesia's Taufik Hidayat, losing 9-
15, 9-15 on Sunday, but this time around the Chinese can expect
the challenge to come from hosts Malaysia, led by world
championships runner-up Wong Choong Hann.
Taufik is not taking part and the Indonesians will be banking
instead on Rony Agustinus, Budi Santoso and two juniors Taufiq
Akbar Hidayat and Sony Dwi Kuncoro.
Chen takes on Japan's Yousuke Nakanishi in the first round,
while the 26-year-old Wong, seeded fourth, faces a qualifier in
his first match.
Wong's probable opponent in the last 16, provided both beat
off their challengers, could be teammate Mohammed Hafiz Hashim.
"My aim is to reach at least the semifinals. With Taufik out,
there is one fewer hurdle to clear," Wong said. "But I will not
under-estimate their juniors. China and Denmark also have strong
contenders for the title."
The unseeded All England champion has a tough first round draw
against Hong Kong's 11th seed Agus Hariyanto.
The other Malaysian players in the fray are Lee Tsuen Seng,
Lee Chong Wei and Hafiz's elder brother, Roslin.
The Malaysia Open, the third and last of the three-week tour
of South-East Asia, is a lucrative one in terms of both prize
money and all-important world ranking points in the World Grand
Prix circuit.
China haa also world champion Xia Xuanze, and youngsters Bao
Chunlai and Lin Dan.
Lee Hyun-il is South Korea's trump card while Denmark has
Peter Gade-Christensen, Kenneth Jonassen and former world
champion Peter Rasmussen.
Meanwhile, world champion Zhang Ning is the firm favorite for
the women's singles crown. She looks set for another showdown
with compatriot and second seed Gong Ruina.
Denmark's world title-winning duo Lars Paaske/Jonas Rasmussen
have already proven their gold medal in Birmingham was no flash
in the pan by reaching the final in Singapore at the weekend,
where they lost to teammates Jens Eriksen/Martin Lundgaard
Hansen.
But with Eriksen and Lundgaard missing from the Malaysian
line-up, top seeds Paaske/Rasmussen have the chance to clinch a
second World Grand Prix title to add to their win at the German
Open last year, according to worldbadminton.net
Second seeds Flandi Limpele/Eng Hian, playing under their
native Indonesian flag again, take on England's Robert Blair/Ian
Palethorpe in the first round before a likely second round match
against teammates Candra Wijaya/Halim Haryanto.