Wong sees Taufik as main threat at Asian C'ships

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)