Will it be Tan Fook-Wan Wah or Fairuzizuan-Zakry

Although Lee Wan Wah-Choong Tan Fook has a higher ranking, i still rather zakry and tazari to go for the Olympics because of their recent good performance in the Thomas Cup.

IT is still not decided if veteran pair Choong Tan Fook-Lee Wan Wah or Zakry Latif-Fairuzizuan Tazari will join Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong on the flight to Beijing for the Olympics.

National doubles coach Rexy Mainaky confirmed yesterday that World No 5 Kien Keat-Boon Heong have impressed him enough to play in the Olympics.

"Kien Keat-Boon Heong are not back at their best but they are making progress. They are now focused and mentally prepared for the Olympics but their hearts are still not on winning the gold medal," said Rexy at the National Sports Council (NSC) in Bukit Jalil yesterday.

"However, a little fine-tuning could do the job for them. I will be able to do it when they compete innext month's Singapore Open and Indonesia Open.

"Believe me, if they are back to their best, they will win the Olympic gold medal."

Although the three Malaysian pairs have qualified for the Beijing Games on merit, Olympic regulations state only two can compete in the event.

However, Rexy was less impressed with Tan Fook and Wan Wah.

"I'm still in doubt whether they are mentally prepared for the Olympics. I'm sceptical after what had happened to them in the recent Thomas Cup." he said.

Rexy is especially unhappy with Tan Fook for falling sick at the eleventh hour before the semi-final clash against China.

"If I was Tan Fook, I would have still played. I don't know now whether they put themselves first before the country. If that is so, then there's a big problem.

" He also wrote off Tan Fook-Wan Wah's chances of winning Olympic gold. On Zakry-Fairuzizuan, the coach said the pair have the desire and heart for glory.

"The fire within them will be a plus in the Olympics, however, the BA of Malaysia (BAM) coaching committee may opt for the two senior pairs.

"I have two pairs in my mind now but the final decision will be made by the coaching committee."

Malaysians should come out tops in Singapore Open

The absence of the Chinese and South Korean big guns will present Lee Chong Wei and the doubles pair of Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong the better chance to come out triumphant from the Singapore Open scheduled for June 10-15.

World number one Lin Dan will be giving the fifth leg of the Super Series a skip together with Bao Chunlai and Chen Jin, who are now ranked third and fourth in the world respectively. Also sitting out are the top two Koreans, Park Sung-hwan and Lee Hyun-il.

The only Chinese representative in the singles is Chen Yu, who will not feature in the Beijing Olympics in August.

World number two Chong Wei will be gunning for his second Super Series title this year after lifting the Malaysian Open in January and he is the top seed ahead of Danish veteran Kenneth Jonassen.

In the Singapore Open last year, Chong Wei was beaten by fellow Malaysian Mohd Hafiz Hashim in the first round.

Five other Malaysians will join Chong Wei and Hafiz to play in the main draw. They are Wong Choong Hann, Roslin Hashim, Lee Tsuen Seng, Sairol Amar Ayob and Yeoh Kay Bin.

Indonesia have Sony Dwi Kuncoro, Taufik Hidayat and Simon Santoso in the fray while Thailand’s Boonsak Ponsana will be defending the title.

Defending champions Fu Haifeng-Cai Yun of China and in-form Koreans Lee Yong-dae-Jung Jae-sung are among the top pairs missing from the men's doubles competition.

Their absence leaves world number one Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan and the Danish pair of Jonas Rasmussen-Lars Paaske as the early favourites to win the title.

The Singapore Open presents the chance for Kien Keat-Boon Heong to make amends for their first-round defeat by team-mates Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari-Mohd Zakry Latif in last year's tournament.

Kien Keat-Boon Heong, who are currently ranked fifth in the world, not only have to improve on their rankings but they also have to boost their confidence ahead of the Beijing Olympics.

A question mark remains on the participation of veterans Choong Tan Fook-Lee Wan Wah as the latter came down with a right shoulder injury in the Thomas Cup Finals in Jakarta last week.

Doubles chief coach Rexy Mainaky said that he should know by next week if Wan Wah could feature in the Open.

“Wan Wah is on a one-week leave and I have to talk to him about his latest condition. In the meantime, we have submitted their entry together with those of all the other pairs in the national team,” he said.

Tan Fook-Wan Wah were the runners-up last year and if they get to start, they will be the second seeds.

My badminton idol!

My badminton idol is Malaysia's Lee Chong Wei although he is world no.2 and not no.1. The world no.1 Lin Dan is a very 'good' player but his attitude makes me dislike him. Lee Chong Wei's attitude is a lot more matured than that of Lin Dan and that is one of the reason why i choose him as my idol instead of his good badminton play especially when he plays offensive

Starting a new blog

My old blog's email address is http://onlybadminton.blogspot.com

I created this new blog as the old blog was a failure.. an opinion from somebody. so now i will create a new blog alongside a friend of mine who likes badminton as much as i do...