Wong sees Taufik as main threat at Asian C'ships
JAKARTA (JP): Malaysian top player and second seed Wong Choon Hann named Indonesian Taufik Hidayat as his toughest rival at the US$150,000 JVC Asian Badminton Championships to be held at the Senayan indoor stadium starting Wednesday.
"I think this should be an interesting tournament for me. I have a good chance of winning and I'm looking forward to the event. My biggest opponent will be Taufik in the finals," Wong told a press conference on Tuesday.
"However, I must be careful in the semifinals as I will probably meet Marlev Mainaky. I also have to be able to overcome Lee Hyun-il of South Korea in the quarterfinals."
Wong also said he had been preparing himself for the championships after competing in the Sydney Olympic Games. Reports said Malaysian badminton Olympians were grounded from competing in three Grand Prix series in Europe -- German Open, Dutch Open and Danish Open -- due to their indisciplined behavior in Sydney after their defeat.
"I have focused my training for the championships. I want to achieve my best here," he said.
The conference was also attended by secretary-general of the Asian Badminton Confederation (ABC) Datuk Punch Gunalan of Malaysia, the organizing committee's chairman Leo Chandra Wiranata of Indonesia, referee Cho Won Kyu of South Korea and deputy referee Juniarto Suhandinata of Indonesia.
To attract more top players to participate in the annual championships, ABC will offer an appearance fee of US$1,000 for all top-seeded players.
"ABC, IMG, and JVC have agreed to offer an appearance fee to all top-seeded shuttlers starting from this year's event. It's part of our efforts to give more appreciation to top-seeded players," said Gunalan.
"Only top-seeded players would receive the fee, regardless their national ranks."
The press conference also discussed the absence of top shuttlers in this year's event, making it less interesting.
"Compared to last year's event, I have to admit we do not have the participation of most of the top shuttlers. This is mainly because it is being held after the Olympics," said Gunalan.
"Another reason is that there are several top shuttlers who retired after the Olympics and some others are changing their partners in the doubles events," he added.
He also pointed to the tight schedule where after the Indonesian Open in August, the Olympics followed in September.
"That gave us no choice but to hold the championships in November. But I'm sure all top players will return next year," said Gunalan.
Separately, former Indonesian men's singles coach Indra Gunawan criticized the Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI) for sending Olympians for regular tournaments after the Olympics.
"Indonesia must learn from China, which opted to send their youngsters to three European Grand Prix series instead of sending their senior players. If PBSI wants to send senior players, they should be non-Olympians," said Indra, who had just finished his contract as Chinese Taipei's coach.
However, Indra threw his weight behind PBSI's decision to field Taufik at the championships. Taufik only managed to reach the quarterfinals in the Olympics, losing to Ji Xinpeng of China.
"Taufik is still very young so it's OK for him to start from square one. But for the senior players, they will lose confidence if they were not well prepared for the championships and had to exit early."
The championships will be aired live by SCTV, a private TV station, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. for the qualifying rounds from Wednesday through Friday.
The semifinals will be aired on Saturday from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. and from 9 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.. Meanwhile the finals will be broadcasted on Sunday from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. and from 10 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.. (nvn/yan)