Hendrawan keeps a low profile at Malaysia Open
JAKARTA (JP): World Champion Hendrawan is keeping a low profile on his chances to grab the men's singles title at the four-star Malaysia Open next week, especially with the application of the new scoring system of the best of five games in seven points.
"I haven't played the new system in a tournament. We have been applying it in training, but it is completely different to the old system of three games in 15 points," he told The Jakarta Post after his training at the Indonesian Badminton Center in Cipayung, East Jakarta, on Tuesday.
"Besides the new scoring system, I'll also face tough challengers in the early rounds, but I have beaten several of them before."
Hendrawan, the world number three, will meet host Saman Ismail in the first round at the tournament, to be slated from July 18 to July 22. If he wins, he is likely to face Tam Kai Chuen of Hong Kong in the second round.
"I've usually beaten Tam in the rubber sets. The new system will force me to attack from the beginning, otherwise, he will control the whole match," said the 29-year-old shuttler.
However, in the World Championships in Seville, Spain in early June, Hendrawan defeated Tam in straight sets 15-3, 15-12.
Coach Agus Dwi Santoso echoed Hendrawan's opinion and said he hoped the Indonesian would bring home a title from the Grand Prix series but he would not expect too much.
"Hendrawan is facing tough challengers in the early rounds. He'll have to work hard to overcome them. Besides, he also has to adapt to the new system."
"I started training them with the new scoring system after returning from Seville. Since then, they haven't had any tournaments yet that have used it and they still need time to adjust.
"Only Taufik (Hidayat) and Marlev (Mainaky) competed at the Swiss Open, which used the system."
Marlev will skip the tournament, opting to concentrate on the Indonesia Open a week after the event and World Grand Prix Finals in August.
"I personally prefer the best of three games in 15 points," defending champion Taufik told the Post by phone. "The new system is too fast and I am finding it hard to adjust."
Taufik, whose coach lost his contract when it was terminated by the Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI) on June 15, skipped the training program with Agus on Tuesday morning.
"I did the physical training by myself," said the 19-year-old shuttler, who is still refusing to join Agus' training program.
Second seed Taufik will face lesser known Pei Wei Chung of Malaysia in the first round. He is expected to meet Chen Yu of China in the next round before he is likely to face Dicky Palyama of the Netherlands in the third round.
The Asian Badminton Championships finalist, Rony Agustinus, has a tough challenge ahead of him as he will meet South Korean old-hand Park Tae Sang in the first round. Should he survive, he will meet Olympics champion Ji Xinpeng of China, whom he beat in the second round of the Japan Open.
Top seed Chen Hong of China is to meet Chetan Anand of India in the first round before meeting the winner of the second round match between James Chua of Malaysia and Anuphap Thiraratsakul of Thailand.
Host hero Roslin Hashim, the fifth seed here, is to face Shinya Ohtsuka of Japan in the first round before being challenged by the winner between Arief Rasidi of Indonesia and Cai Yun of China in the second round.
Roslin is the hot favorite here as he managed to win the Swiss Open earlier this year, which used the new scoring system.
World number one Peter Gade Christensen of Denmark opted to miss the tournament to prepare for the Grand Prix Finals. (yan)