BuluSG Badminton News & Video

GERMAN OPEN 2008 : KOREA SWEEPS GERMAN GOLD

2008-03-04T10:10:00.003+08:00

In an all-northern-Asian finals day in Mulheim, Korea took all five golds on title, its first team brushing aside the Chinese and Japanese upstarts, but not without difficulty. It was the first time this decade that Korea had swept a Grand Prix event.

At the end of a long year of rebuilding, the top Korean players, several still struggling to stake their claims to Olympic berths, descended on Mulheim, Germany to snatch up points that most top contenders forsook in favour of pre-All England rest.

First up was the mixed doubles, where Lee Yong Dae and Lee Hyo Jung evened the score with world #5 He/Yu of China (pictured), who had beaten the Koreans in the Malaysia Open final. The Chinese pair took the first game easily, 21-8, and the Koreans never held the lead until a 6-point run early in the second put them up 9-6. The Chinese maintained the upper hand and created 5 match-point opportunities, only to see the Koreans claw back to a tie each time before finally eking out a 27-25 win to tie the match.

The final game was all Lees as they led throughout and took their second tournament title of 2008. Lee/Lee are still the second Korean pair in the rankings and, at world #12 and with a Super Series title to defend in two weeks, are still not assured of Olympic qualification.

While Korean sweeps of doubles are not uncommon, seeing two singles players on the podium is a rare sight indeed. However, both Jun Jae Youn (pictured top) and Lee Hyun Il (pictured left) continued their fine form from their home event and took the titles that will tip them back into the top 10. Both players had to scrape by in their first games - Jun robbed China's Wang Yihan of 3 game points before winning 25-23 to take her one-game lead - but led throughout their second games to win comfortably. For 2006 World Junior champion Wang, it was the third Grand Prix final in six months, a clear signal that she will be a force to be reckoned with on the senior circuit.

Two more Lees joined in the action in doubles as Lee Kyung Won shared in Lee Hyo Jung's second title assault where they beat Maeda/Suetsuna of Japan 21-17, 21-16. Lee Jae Jin and Hwang Ji Man, meanwhile, extended to 3 their winning streak over higher-ranked compatriots Lee/Jung with a straight-game win in men's doubles. Interestingly, the only tournaments either Korean pair have won in the past 2 years have come with wins over each other in final matches. The last time either pair beat a non-Korean pair in a tournament final was at the 2006 German Open.

While the world's top players and the eyes of every fan head to Birmingham this week for the prestigious All England, Korea's juniors will be staying on in Germany along with many more of the world's top teenagers for the Yonex German Junior 2008.

BIRTH - Welcome to Leon Tantra Gunawan

2008-02-24T10:00:00.001+08:00

Tony and Eti Gunawan are the happy parents of Leon Tantra Gunawan, who was born on February 1st, 2008. "We just wanted to share with all of you the joy of our first baby, Leon Tantra Gunawan. Hopefully he can continue my legacy," said the Indonesian legend. 7lb, 9oz and 20,5 inches.

BuluSG congratulates Tony and Eti and welcome warmly Leon, who will surely be running the four corners very soon!

Huang Sui - A Story of Sacrifice

2008-02-24T09:45:00.003+08:00

Huang Sui, who has been in the top three in women’s doubles almost consistently for the past 5 years, had to retire to be by her father’s side before he passed away, giving up on playing in her home Olympics. Mark Phelan and Ee Lyn Ooi take a look at this sad story.

If there is a player who understands sacrifice it is Huang Sui of China. In October, 2007, the effervescent, smiling Chinese star retired from competitive badminton to return home to care for her dying father, who, earlier in the year, had been diagnosed with cancer. Huang Sui faced then what is probably the toughest decision ever to make for an athlete: to have to chose between her dream - her career and what she’s worked so hard for - and her family. Her decision to retire was based on true family values. Her family needed her and, as she was an only child, she wanted to be there for her family in these hardest of times. She returned home to be at her father’s bedside and to care for him and in doing so sacrificed her chance of Olympic Gold in her home country.

The “Water Closet” Miracle

Huang Sui’s story began on January 8th, 1982 when she was born in Hunan province in China or, as most people know it, in The cradle of badminton champions.

Huang Sui’s mother often spoke of her daughter not being an outstanding player when she first started to play badminton. But one man changed her life: her coach Yang Zhiyong saw her potential and began to train and tutor her. Under the watchful eye of Yang Zhiyong, she began to develop and improve rapidly but kept her joyful and somehow nonchalant way of training. One day, Yang locked her up in the bathroom and let her out only when she had promised she would change her attitude. She may have thought then that she wanted to keep being her usual self, but Yang’s strict coaching routine finally brought the best out of the flighty youngster.

Hunan province was a poor area and most families from the province lived simple lives. Huang Sui’s family were no different. They were poor and to provide for a fledgling badminton career required funding so her dad Huang Chuanbiao had to go and work in Zhuzhou in order to pay for training and tournaments. Her mother remained behind at the family home and frequently made the trip to see her daughter at her training camp at the Anhua County Sports School. She used to cycle through the mountain roads in winter to bring Huang Sui food and goodies. Huang Sui always looked forward to her mothers visits but understood the sacrifices her parents made for her and her chosen badminton career.

The International Years

Huang Sui continued to develop and in 1997 she joined the Chinese National Team. She was widely known as a strength player with strong attacking characteristics: a type ideally suited to women’s doubles. On the court, she has a calm disposition, which indeed has got her through some very difficult matches in the past.

Internationally, Huang Sui came to prominence along with her partner Gong Ruina (who would later become the world champion in the singles event) when they were runners-up in the 1998 World Junior Championships and in 2001 she won the Japan Open, the World Championships, and the first of her six prestigious All England titles with partner Gao Ling. She went on to capture more than 25 international titles – the most recent being the 2007 Macau Open – as well as participating in 3 Uber Cup wins, confirming Huang Sui as one of the best exponents of women’s doubles badminton of her generation. She had it all: strength, touch, and a positive spirit which helped her through some tough situations on court. Even so, she remained, somehow, in the shadow of Gao Ling, who is known to be one of the best players – if not the best – of her generation. At the age of 25, ranked as always within the top three in the world, Huang Sui was ready to take on the world at home for an Olympic Gold medal.

In and Out of Retirement

In March 2007, while preparing for the All England and an attempt at a 7th consecutive title, Huang Sui received news that her father was not well but she was, at that point, completely concentrated on the tournament at hand and paid little attention to the notice, thinking her father’s illness could not be anything serious. She returned home to China to visit her father after injury prevented her from progressing beyond the semi-final in Birmingham and from taking part in the Swiss Open, which was to follow. Huang Sui was surprised to find her father so ill when she got home and it brought the Chinese star to tears. He was brought to the hospital, diagnosed with cancer.

It was at this point that Huang Sui decided to retire from the game of badminton so she could be at home to help her mother look after her dying father. After receiving news that Huang Sui had withdrawn from the national team, Head Coach Li Yongbo and women’s doubles coach Tian Bingyi together with eight other team members, including Gao Ling, Zhang Ning, and Lin Dan, visited Huang Sui and her family in mid-April, 2007. It was after these visitors had left that Huang Sui’s father expressed his wish that his daughter return to the National Team as he wanted to see her become Olympic champion. After much deliberation and discussion, Huang Sui decided to return to the National Team and continue working towards fulfilling both her own and her father’s dream of becoming an Olympic champion. The very next day, she booked a flight back to Jin Jiang and her family were relieved with her decision.

Once back on the team, Huang Sui commenced regular training but she could only talk over the phone to her family and she spent most of her time wondering about her father’s condition. Although this was a burden on her, she continued to apply herself to her game. She had to take responsibility for her decision to go back and felt the need not to let her partner or her team down.

“How could I possibly leave him?”

Gradually her fitness returned and although she missed the Singapore and Indonesia Opens, she returned to competitive action, when along with her partner Gao Ling, she won the Thailand Open in July 2007. Following that, the same pairing won silver at the World Championships in August but it was after the ‘Good Luck Beijing’ Olympic test tournament in October that Huang Sui decided once and for all to stop playing and go home to be with her family as her father’s condition continued to deteriorate at an ever increasing pace.

“I gave up everything and went home to stay by his side, to accompany him and to watch him; but all of it was hopeless. He tried his best to prove he was still healthy and that he could still go to Beijing and watch me play in the Olympics. He didn’t need me to worry about him. He didn’t want me to give up 20 years of my hard work. But how could I possibly leave him? How could I not worry and concentrate on my career? Many times I have asked myself what should I do and what the right thing to do is. I am a human, an ordinary human, a normal human, a simple person. It is fine for me to not get flowers, applause, status and glory; but it is very wrong for me to be emotionless, it is wrong for me to be unable to know what’s right or wrong,” wrote Huang Sui on her blog (the full translation of this blog is in the players’ section).

She spent the next weeks by her father’s side and on Dec 4th, 2007 Huang Chuanbiao gave up his fight for life and passed away. His loyal and loving daughter was there at his bedside and as an only child she decided that home was where she should stay to look after and be with her mother. Huang Sui best sums up her own feelings in her blog entry dated the 13th of December, 2007, and it reads as follows:

“It is uncommon for us to not make mistakes in our lives but we can hope that we don’t have regrets. It is most important to be filial. I will feel better if I do so. I was with him through his last days. He did everything to raise me, and finally having me by his side in his last days, I guess he was able to leave peacefully. Dad did not enjoy life in comfort and happiness when he was around but his most treasured daughter was willing to give up everything and come back to his bedside and accompany him through his remaining days. Perhaps it was my filialness that touched God; He took all of dad’s pains. Even the doctor said it was an extremely rare chance, but dad left peacefully. He left by organ failure but not in pain. This could have been Dad’s luckiest experience.”

The professional game of badminton will be a lonelier and darker place without Huang Sui. Her infectious smile brought so much happiness to so many people and if you happened to be in the same hall or venue as her, you probably felt the effect that smile had on all those around her. You just could not help smiling.

BuluSG salutes Huang Sui and wishes her all the best ...

Choong to wed Zhang

2008-02-24T09:31:00.000+08:00

Malaysia's Choong Tan Fook and China's Zhang Jiewen may be wearing different flags on their shirts, but they should be soon flying under the same name. The Malaysian veteran proposed to Zhang and vowed to marry the top Chinese shuttler after the Olympic Games.

It was no secret for their close friends and the badminton fraternity, but the fact that Choong Tan Fook finally made this relationship official makes it special, on day one of his home event, the Malaysia Open. The Malaysian proposed to Zhang Jiewen, the top women's doubles shuttler from China, just before the tournament kicked off in Kuala Lumpur. The duo had been dating for a while, since the Malaysia Open in 2004 – exactly 3 years ago, but kept the secret until now. Of course, two players from two different national teams wasn’t an easy situation to deal with and Zhang went against the advice of her coach Li Yongbo, who was quite concerned about this “external” relationship. Yet Zhang held on to her feelings towards Choong and the duo should be getting married sometime after the Olympics.

“We don’t know yet whether it will be this year or next year, but he still hasn’t given me the ring yet,” laughed Zhang. Choong had given a first symbolic proof of his love, however, last year, when he gave Zhang a diamond ring during the Singapore Open last May.

This love story isn’t the only one on the circuit as many hands are held when the lights are off and behind the badminton curtains – Lin Dan and Xie Xingfang, Eric Pang and Yao Jie, Chen Hong and Kou Pei Ting, and others who are still remaining secret …

KOREA OPEN 2008 FINAL : Three Lees Move up one Podium Step in Seoul

2008-02-24T09:09:00.008+08:00

Lee Hyun Il of Korea kept his cool through a storm named Lin Dan and bagged his first Korea Open title ever, becoming the first Korean to win the men’s singles title since 1996. Earlier, two other Lees, Hyo Jung and Yong Dae, picked up Korea’s tenth home mixed doubles title. Despite the losses by both singles players, China still managed to leave with gold in both doubles.

Lee Hyun Il was the picture of composure as he weathered a flurry of Lin Dan’s attacks on the way to dropping the first game 4-21. While this may have looked like a repeat of his last encounter with Lin Dan – a disastrous defeat in the Doha Asian Games semi-final where Lee earned just 3 points in the first game – this match was to end very, very differently.

"I didn’t have great expectations about winning here so I didn’t feel much pressure. I was a little nervous at the beginning, but I think the fact that I was able to calm down and play the game was the reason I won," explained Lee after the match. “When you lose the first game that easily, it normally completely saps your confidence. At the end of the first game I just didn't think about it and just thought of the second game as if it were starting again. In Doha, I thought too much about the first game.”

The difference became obvious early in the second game as Lee rushed out to a 9-1 lead. However, Lin Dan quickly got himself back in the game and even managed to reach match point before Lee denied him the chance to end it early and won 23-21 to force a deciding game.

The real drama came in the final game. Lee Hyun Il fended off another two match points to force a deuce situation and at 21-all, he smashed deep down the forehand line. When the line judge called the shot in, Lin Dan began howling in protest to the umpire and he pointed and shouted at Lee Hyun Il and at the Korean bench. He then threw his racquet past the umpire and over Korean coach Li Mao, bringing Li storming over to Lin.

A shouting match ensued as the Chinese coaches approached but the tournament referees quickly stepped in to calm things down and handed Lin Dan back his racquet. The umpire showed Lin a yellow card and the Chinese player resumed the match, tying the match again before the Korean finally closed it out 4-21, 23-21, 25-23.

“Lin Dan normally tends to be overbearing,” Lee said after the match. “He's the same even when he plays in other countries. I don't see that it really has any effect, but I think his intention is to change the mood. I thought today that it was a bit much. Still, I wasn't affected by it.”

“Lin Dan said ‘You saw it. Wasn't it out?’ I said ‘I don't know. It's the line judge's call. But anyway, aren't the conditions the same in China?’”

Asked whether he thought it was unfair that Lin’s outburst resulted in only a warning, Lee replied “No, I didn't think that way. Carrying on like that was only going to hurt himself so it didn't disturb me particularly.”

Gong Xi Fat Chai - Hiphopindo Hokkien

2008-01-27T14:45:00.001+08:00

MALAYSIA OPEN 2008 FINAL – Tine and Lee Chong Wei in gold

2008-01-27T12:30:00.000+08:00

It is Grand Finale day for the 2008 Proton Malaysia Open Super Series. The day began with spectators swarming into the hall, all with their ‘cheering apparatuses’ in their hands. They would be soon rewarded by Lee Chong Wei’s 4th title in 5 years, while the year started with a bang in the ladies' world as Tine Rasmussen beat the only top Chinese player she hadn’t yet defeated – Zhu Lin - to clinch the title.

Tine strikes again!

The longest event of the day, taking one hour and 9 minutes, was the women’s singles event with Tine Rasmussen (pictured) and Zhu Lin in the running for the title. The former, Denmark’s new idol, had beaten all the top Chinese on her way to her success in Japan, last September: all but Zhu Lin, whom she had never beaten before. Zhu, meanwhile, was feeling at home, having clinched the world title here last August. It was a hard start for both the ladies. The Dane had good control of the net in the 1st game and grabbed 5 points from her net play.

Rasmussen was proceeding well enough until Zhu caught her at 13-all and started to turn the game to her favour. Although the Dane managed to stick close to the Chinese world champion up to a 17-all tie, Zhu quickly left her behind to win 21-18.

Rasmussen slowly got used to Zhu’s style in the 2nd game and was very much in control of the game. She was active and looked very desperate to take this one down. Showing signs of frustration when losing a point, she clearly wanted to give nothing to her opponent. Zhu Lin maintained the advantage until the interval with an 11-10 lead but at that point, Rasmussen started to unleash jumping smashes that were amazingly accurate and fast and had Zhu Lin stumbling over the court trying to return them. Game 2 ended with a close win for the Dane, 21-19. They were in for a thrilling tie-breaker.

Rasmussen, well advised by her coach Thomas Stuer Lauridsen, returned to the court looking prepared enough to stomp the Chinese flat and started the game using her power. Halfway through the rubber game, Rasmussen lunged to the forecourt in an attempt to return one of Zhu’s drop shots and injured her leg as her knees went to the floor. She was examined by the doctor on site and opted to continue the deciding game with the 3rd-seeded Chinese.

Everything went smoothly for the Dane as she pulled back her beautiful smashes and net play in the last game and made many clear winners that gave her an early lead. Soon after Rasmussen got back on court, she was announced champion of the women’s singles event, 18-21, 21-19, 21-18, giving another clear warning to China that she will be one of the key opponents to China’s hegemony in Beijing this year.

“This victory shows my success in Japan was no fluke; The Chinese are beatable. Wong had proven it in China, I did it again here. Physically, I played well today, and I made Zhu Lin commit the errors first. I twisted my ankle, but I hope I can still play in Korea,” said the Dane.

Chong Wei gets 4th gold at home

The men stepped into the hall for the men’s singles event right after the ladies made their way out. The only Malaysian left competing in the finals, Lee Chong Wei (photo), was welcomed into the hall with loud cheers and applause by the national supporters as he entered with Korea’s Lee Hyun Il. The Malaysian had it easy enough in the 1st game as the Korean showed no sign of being able to keep up with him.

As both proceeded to the 2nd game, Lee Hyun-Il seemed to be in full control on the game after a little advice from his coach Li Mao, who clearly knows Chong Wei’s style as the Chinese coach was in charge of Chong Wei before flying off to Korea to take new charges. The Malaysian then looked helpless and was under the command of the Korean. The Korean Lee hit the Malaysian with 7 strong smashes and ended the game with an awkward 21-17.

Upon preparing for the rubber game, the two shuttlers hurried to the sides of their respective coaches to get as much advice as possible. Lee Chong Wei - currently under Misbun Sidek – was clearly advised to change his strategy. The 3 games between the two players looked almost like a match between the two coaches. The Malaysian started to dish out cross-court smashes accurately enough to beat the Korean. He was then in control of the 3rd game and didn’t give even a small chance to the Korean. This match endedsoon enough, 21-17, as Lee Hyun-il could no longer match the Malaysian’s comeback.

The big crowd of spectators rose to their feet and gave out a thundering roar of joy. A famous Malaysian fan who had himself dressed in the Malaysian flag knocked through the security and rushed onto the court. Although stopped by the security staff, the excited Malaysian fan insisted that he wanted to give the national hero a hug. He then looked up and had his hands open before his chest to show gratitude to God for Lee Chong Wei’s victory

Li Mao : “ I was happy, no matter who won”

“I slowed down in the 2nd game and was nervous as Lee Hyun-Il’s game was specially to play against me. I couldn’t control the game so I lost it so soon. Anyway, I am really happy about my victory. I’ll be meeting him in the 2nd round of the Korean Open next week and I hope to do better against him then,” said the Malaysian in an interview session after receiving the prize.

“Chong Wei was calm and had no mistakes in the 1st game. He attacked whenever he had the chance and had strokes which were difficult to guess,” commented the Korean about his opponent.

As for Korean singles coach Li Mao, he thought that this could be considered Hyun-Il’s best match so far since his return. “It was not easy for Chong Wei to get through as I understand his strengths and weaknesses. However, he handled this pressure very well. I am happy that he won. Basically, I will be happy no matter Hyun-il or Chong Wei wins and vice versa,” explained Li Mao.

MALAYSIA OPEN 2008 FINAL – China bags “only two”

2008-01-27T00:36:00.000+08:00

Indonesia banks again on young duo

In men’s doubles, unseeded Danes Lars Paaske and Jonas Rasmussen were up against 2nd-seeded Indonesians Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan (pictured here on the podium) for the last match of the day, which was to be one of the best ones of this incredibly tense afternoon of finals. The veterans from Denmark couldn’t do much about the excited Indonesians, who were in control of the 1st game. Markis Kido pelted many of his strong smashes across the court and this led to 10 game points and resulted in an easy 21-10 win. The experienced Danes lacked power in the second game and the crowd thought that the final match of the day might just end there. But one had to taken into account the Dane’s fighting spirit and Paaske and Rasmussen clawed their way back to a 19-all tie before finally taking the game 22-20.

The 4th and last tie breaker of the day began. The Danes led 4-1 and 7-5 until the Indonesian youngsters matched them at 7-all. Kido continued with his ruthless killing smashes, while the Danes banked on their flat play. The young world champions, though, were determined to grab the 1st title of the year and stomped over the veterans 21-18 and were announced champions 48 minutes after the match had started.

“This stadium is our lucky stadium, as we have been crowned here twice already! But we still need to focus on our game as we didn’t play at our best today“ said the Indonesians.

“We are still very happy about our performance here, even if we didn’t win. We beat two top pairs and it proves we are back”, said the Danes.

The medal ceremony for the men’s doubles event put a full stop to the 2008 Proton Malaysia Open, the 1st Super Series of the new-year. The players had to pack quickly to make their way to Korea, while some others had already flown to the Korean capital – amongst which was Peter Gade, who was able to make it after having to withdraw from the Malaysia Open.

Losing the singles events, China still bagged two gold medals, thanks to their young but hard-fighting pair of He and Yu. World Champions Kido and Setiawan, on their hand, continue their winning strike in Bukit Jalil for a beautiful ending of the Proton Malaysia Badminton Open.

The day started with the mixed doubles event between the Lee Yong-Dae/Lee Hyo-Jung of Korea and He Hanbin/Yu Yang of China. The spectators were already so excited that they were screaming the names of the players as they started the game.

The game was certainly not in favour of the 6th-seeded Chinese at the beginning. The two were unstable and did not show much experience in their play. The Koreans toyed with them and left them behind slightly. Both He Hanbin and Yu Yang (photo) had a very slow and wobbly start until they managed to tie the game at 8-all.

The Chinese then started to dictate the rhythm of the game and began overpowering the Koreans. Yu Yang had everything her way at the net and returned the shuttles accurately across the horizontal line. Lee Yong-Dae and Lee Hyo-Jung, who just weren’t taking the initiative, crawled slowly and met the Chinese again at 14-all. Those were all the points the pair of Lee’s would get, however, and the Chinese slammed the door on the 1st game at 21-14.

The 2nd game obviously belonged to the Chinese. However, the spectators, who were behind the Koreans, continued to show their most fervent support. They were cheering the name of the country and also, the name of the adorable youngster Lee Yong-Dae. Still, their cheers didn’t seem to help. The pumped-up Chinese had a total of 12 smashes that hit the Koreans far behind and the latter could do nothing but try to defend. Not long after, in exactly 36 minutes, the Koreans bowed to He Hanbin and Yu Yang, 21-15.

MALAYSIA OPEN 2008 SF - Fresh Face Finalists

2008-01-27T00:21:00.000+08:00

As the 2008 Malaysia Super Series finals are currently running at full speed with a fresh dose of finalist faces and with all 5 finals involving an interesting tussle between a big seed and an unseeded opponent, Badzine recaps how the semi-finals concluded with a cocktail of fresh faces for the finals.

Korea was mostly responsible for the fresh face finalist syndrome at the 2008 Malaysia Super Series, contributing 2 unexpected finalists. Before Lee Hyun-Il booked his surprise final berth, his compatriots Lee Yong-dae and Lee Hyo-Jung (pictured) were the first to get the ball rolling in the mixed doubles event.

Lee Hyo-Jung is arguably the most versatile women’s doubles player in Korea at the moment. The lanky Korean has been paired with several prominent Korean men’s doubles players as Korea digs deep to recreate yet another formidable mixed doubles pair following the retirement of their legendary mixed doubles couple Kim Dong-moon/Ra Kyung-min, who are two-time World Champions in the discipline.

A variety of Korean mixed doubles pairs have surfaced since, especially with Lee Hyo-Jung paired with the likes of Lee Jae-jin, Han Sung-hoon and Lee Yong-dae on different occasions. While this is not the first time Lee Hyo-Jung and Lee Yong-dae have teamed up, it is arguably their best showing as a pair, given that, in their Super Series win in Switzerland last year, they didn't meet a single top 5 pair in the tournament, and beat an unseeded pair in the finals.

The young Koreans were absolutely mature up against the veteran English pair and 5th-seeded Nathan Robertson and Gail Emms. Particularly outstanding was the 19-year-old Lee Yong-dae, whose menacing smashes had the English pair floored. In fact, the Koreans’ heartening performance won them the crowd’s support. Their thrilling 23-21, 16-21, 21-16 victory had the Malaysian-dominated crowd leaping to their feet with thundering applause and cheers.

Lee/Lee will have a shot at gold as they face an even younger pair, 6th-seeded He Hanbin/Yu Yang of China, who disposed of another veteran pair, Sudket Prapakamol/Saralee Thoungthongkam of Thailand, in an equally thrilling semi-final that ended in a wicked score line of 21-23, 21-17, 23-21.

MALAYSIA OPEN 2008 SF - Li's Legacy Haunts Malaysia

2008-01-26T23:51:00.000+08:00

The semi-final, as we all know, is the last hurdle for a player to cross in order to secure a podium spot, but what we don’t always anticipate is the level of intensity a semi-final match can serve. Malaysian fans never fail to bring out the best in their local talents. In the semi-finals of the 2008 Malaysian Super Series, homegrown Lee Chong Wei and Wong Mew Choo were definitely the best bets to prevent a China-dominated final, but it was former Malaysia singles coach Li Mao who stole the show.

It was national pride at stake at the men’s and women’s singles semi-finals, which involved two Malaysia vs China matches. Being the last male and female survivor from their country in these two events, each national representative felt immense pressure to keep their respective national flag flying.

In a boisterous concoction of rhythmic Malay drum beats, the Queen of Malaysian Badminton, Wong Mew Choo, who had defeated Japanese Eriko Hirose in the quarter-final on Friday, was ushered into a hall filled with thundering cheers from the omnipresent Malaysian supporters!

The petite Malaysian number one nearly nailed the 1st game against her 3rd-seeded opponent, Zhu Lin of China. Wong had a total of 7 smash winners that were all sharp and accurately executed, but she was hampered by a rash of inferior net play that enabled Zhu to catch up to a nail-biting score line of 19-all.

Zhu arrived at game point first but Wong was presented a one-of-its-kind opportunity to take the match into deuce but a lack of composure saw Wong jump-smashing a hanging shot wide and bequeathing Zhu the first game 21-19.

Wong never seemed to recover from the mistake as she returned to the second game in an erratic and passive mode. Zhu wasted no time, unleashing a chain of ruthless smashes to set herself up with a wicked 10-point lead. The crowd demonstrated their relentless faith in their flag bearer by non-stop drumming, but a helpless Wong just couldn’t find the stroke to turn the game around and went down tamely 21-12.

It’s the 3rd consecutive time in Malaysia where Wong’s quest for success has been stopped short by Zhu as Malaysia uncannily remained Zhu’s lucky hunting ground. The Chinese number 3 had nicked the 2007 Malaysian Super Series title and was crowned the 2007 World Champion in Malaysia too, defeating Wong en route to both these titles.

Perhaps this is why the Malaysian crowd remained empathetic as they generously applauded Wong when she exited from the court, or perhaps the crowd was confident that their other local hero, top seed Lee Chong Wei, would repay their faithful support.

Up against 8th seed Chen Yu, Lee knew he was in no position to take his top seeding for granted as the China number 4 would be burning with the desire to gain the maximum number of points in order to nick an Olympic qualification berth.

True enough, Chen was unstoppable in the first game as he consistently maintained a comfortable lead but it was the world number 2 Malaysian who showed more maturity, as he responded to the disappointment reeking within the crowd with a courageous catch-up display to even the game at 19-all. In a soul-stirring deuce display, it was Lee who eventually trumped Chen 25-23.

Returning to the court after the break, a pumped-up Lee seemed to have absorbed a sponge-full of advice from his coach as he unleashed a cocktail of precise smashes and exquisite net play as he raced to take the half-time lead before swiftly gunning the Chinese down 21-11.

Lee explained the topsy-turvy nature of the match, “I was initially trying to get used to Chen Yu’s play in the first game. I struggled a lot and finally took it down. As for the second game, I managed to control the tempo so it was a lot easier for me compared to the first one.

“I’ll be playing against Lee Hyun-Il (pictured above) in the finals tomorrow. I think it will be hard for me since [my former coach] Li Mao (pictured right, coaching Lee Chong Wei at the 2006 Thomas Cup) knows my strengths and weaknesses very well. Whatever happens, I will try my best.”

Though the other men’s singles semi-final match had no Malaysian representative -- it was between Korea’s Lee Hyun-II and Denmark’s Kenneth Jonassen -- the Malaysian crowd was heard cheering but not for either player. Instead, it was for Lee Chong Wei’s former coach Li Mao, who is currently the coach of Korea’s comeback kid, Lee Hyun-II.

The talented left-handed Korean is clearly still hungry for success. Capitalising on Jonassen’s less-than-agile response at the net, Lee forced the big Dane to remain on the defensive by repetitively leaving the persistent Dane stranded at the net.

Though Lee appeared lethargic towards the end of the second game, he managed a superb smash to silence the 7th seed 21-15, 21-18. Nevertheless, Lee remained positive about his fitness level saying, “I am really glad that I made it to the finals. I guess I am still fit after a long time I hadn’t been playing.”

When asked about the final against Lee Chong Wei, he said, “It is going to be tough. Lee Chong Wei is playing on his home ground and the crowd will be behind him. I hope that I will manage to give him a hard time then.”

Li Mao will definitely ensure his new charge will make that happen. Li, who is currently coaching in Korea, had blasted the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) just a few days ago for their inadequate coaching set-up. He will definitely take this opportunity to prove his point.

MALAYSIA OPEN 2008 QF: The Excitement Continues

2008-01-23T10:21:00.000+08:00

Still Chance of a Double in Singles

In the men’s singles department, however, there was joy in the Malaysian camp as their favourite and top seed Lee Chong Wei (pictured) advanced to the semis with his defeat of Simon Santoso of Indonesia 21-13, 21-13.

“This was by far my easiest win over Simon. He was not playing well today and I managed to get the upper hand in the match. Personally I think I played much better today compared to the other days. And I hope I can do well again tomorrow against Chen Yu of China,” said Chong Wei.

The unexpected result was Kenneth Jonassen of Denmark winning over Bao Chunlai of China 21-14 21-19. Kenneth managed to control the tempo of the game.

“I’m very happy for the win. This is my best match ever against Bao,” said Kenneth. In fact the Malaysian crowd was supporting Kenneth all the way during that match.

The women's singles continues to get interesting. Wong Mew Choo struggled against Eriko Hirose of Japan, dropping the first game and blowing 6 game points in the second before snatching a 3-game victory in exactly one hour. Her win sets up a semi-final repeat of last year's final against Zhu Lin. Tine Rasmussen, meanwhile, won her rematch against Lu Lan of China, though it took her nearly twice as long as it did in Japan.

Despite a heartbreaking loss by Shon Seung-mo, the Korean bench has something to smile about as four Lees have advanced to the semi-finals. Especially pleasing was the victory of mixed doubles pair Lee Yong Dae and Lee Hyo Jung over world number two Lilyana Natsir and Nova Widianto.

2004 Olympic silver-medallist Shon is now ranked a lowly 90th in the world. He let slip 3 game point opportunities in the first game before finally losing in three games to Chen Yu. Lee Hyun- Il will be carrying the Korean flag into the semis.

It was a contrasting day for Malaysian Badminton as two of their men’s doubles pairs fell today in the quarter-finals. Lee Chong Wei and Wong Mew Choo kept local hopes alive in the singles events where China, surprisingly, is down to one player in each draw.

Comeback pair Chan Chong Ming and Chew Choon Eng’s fairytale run ended when they faced Fu Haifeng and Cai Yun of China and lost 21-13, 21-12.

“We never expected to get this far, to the quarterfinals. At the same time we know that we can still perform at this level. We hope that we can get more ranking points in the future tournaments. The crowd in the stadium was supporting us all the way. It was thanks to them that we made it at least to the quarter-finals,” quipped Chong Ming.

“Winning and losing is part of the game, we managed to control the tempo of the match and we are happy that the result favors us. I’m glad to also see Chong Ming and partner are back in action,” added Cai Yun.

The fans were not as happy about Lee Wan Wah and Choong Tan Fook’s performance, however. The fifth-seeded veterans lost badly to Lars Paaske and Jonas Rasmussen of Denmark (pictured) 21-16 ,16-21, 21-6. The Danes were ecstatic about their win here.

“We have a boost of confidence after beating Koo and Tan yesterday and we played our usual game today. We managed to read the Malaysian pair’s game today. Although we lost in the second game, we were able to win it big in the 3rd game,” said Paaske.

Lee Wan Wah admitted “We were disappointed with our performance today. Personally I think my fitness is not back yet since I only trained for 2 weeks after I had my knee rehabilitated. The Danes played their game well and kept us from playing our game. They were faster today and managed to retrieve all the shots that we gave to them.”

MALAYSIA OPEN 2008 - Jonassen shines in KL

2008-01-22T12:47:00.000+08:00

The image of the day is the joy of Kenneth Jonassen, of Denmark, after his win over second seed Bao Chunlai of China, for one of the main upsets of this tournament so far. The Dane beat Bao 21/14 - 21/19. The Dane will now take on Lee Hyun Il of Korea. Both men are desperate for a title after a long title drought. Lee Chong Wei, home favorite, will be taking on China's last hope in the event, Chen Yu.

.
Malaysia's other sweetheart Wong Mew Choo was close to losing to Japan's cute Eriko Hirose but managed to clinch her semi-final ticket against World Champion Zhu Lin. Denmark's Tine Rasmussen once again beat Lu Lan and will be hoping for continued success against Pi Hongyan of France on Saturday.

Bad news for Malaysian fans, as all local pairs are out. Lee and Choong fell to Paaske and Rasmussen, while Chan/Chew, logically, bowed to China's Cai and Fu. China makes up for its poor singles outing in the doubles, with 3 pairs in the women's doubles event and one pair in the mixed.

MALAYSIA OPEN 2008 - The Youngs are Gone, the Old Guns Back

2008-01-22T12:35:00.000+08:00

It has been an exciting week for badminton in Malaysia so far. It’s only on the 2nd round and there have been a lot of upsets and surprises. Fans are definitely getting their money's worth coming to the stadium today where the action never stops from start until the end.

There were mixed feelings on the Malaysian bench after their men’s doubles performances. The number one pair of Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong lost to the fired up Lars Paaske and Jonas Rasmussen of Denmark in three hard games “There was no pressure for the boys to win it in Malaysia. They played their best but there were a lot of errors. The Danes played well,” says Rexy Mainaky.

Fortunately for the home fans, Lee Wah Wah and Choong Tan Fook advanced to the quarter-final when they disposed of their teammates Ong Soon Hock and Tan Bin Shen 19-21, 21-18, 21-18. But the surprise news is that Chan Chong Ming and Chew Choon Eng (pictured above) advanced to the quarter-finals by beating a pair from Chinese Taipei, 21-13, 13-21, 21-14.

“We didn’t expect to get this far. We were the underdogs. Tomorrow will be another challenge where both Choon Eng and I will know where we stand as we will be facing China's #1 pair of Fu Hai Feng and Cai Yun. We are going to play our best,” says Chong Ming, who didn’t even have time to go on a honeymoon with his wife Janice after their wedding in Kuala Lumpur a few days before the tournament.

Japanese girls are back !

The Japanese women's team had a strong showing with two of their doubles pairs and two singles competitors advancing to Friday's quarter-finals. Their only disappointment was Kanako Yonekura, who lost to Tine Rasmussen in 2 tight games 21-19, 21-19.

“I just couldn’t capitalize and wrap up the first set when I was leading. Tine played strongly and managed to put me off my game. Then she stepped on the gas in the middle of second set and I found it hard to catch up with her even though I tried to keep it close. Tine played well. I just need to go back to the drawing board and prepare myself for the next tournament in Korea, in which, coincidentally, I will be facing Tine again. I hope I will be able to win when I meet her there,” said Kanako.

Japan was delighted however with Miyuki Maeda and Satoko Suetsuna’s win over Vita Marissa and Lilyana Natsir of Indonesia. “We played well today, but we will try to play better tomorrow as we will be going to face Du Jing and Yu Yang of China. It is not easy playing against the Chinese. We will do our best and hope the crowd will cheer for us tomorrow,” said the Japanese.

Another golden Japanese pair, Ogura and Shiota (photo), didn’t disappoint the crowd as they steamrolled over Endang Nursugianti and Rani Mudiasti of Indonesia 21-11, 21-9. When asked about their chances tomorrow against Koreans Lee and Lee Reiko replied “We will take one point at a time. Definitely a tough match to play, but we are optimistic that we will do well.”

MALAYSIA OPEN 2008 – New names are striking

2008-01-22T12:25:00.000+08:00

It was the second day of the Super Series Proton Malaysia Open and the Bukit Jalil Putra Stadium was filled with a huge number of spectators, mostly supporters of the Malaysian and Indonesian teams. Supporters of both countries waved their national flags jubilantly in the air while cheering with their well-known slogans. New names are coming on strong such as Germany’s Hopp and Overzier or Denmark’s Andersen and Mollhyus.
.

The day started with the second round of the mixed doubles. Fifth-seeded Nathan Robertson and Gail Emms swept Russia’s Durkin and Sorokina off the court 21-19, 21-18 in 32 minutes. The next mixed doubles match to finish, a mere 3 minutes later, has to be considered one of the upsets of the day. Germany’s Kristof Hopp and Birgit Overzier (pictured) triumphed over China’s Zhao Tingting and Xu Chen 23-21, 21-15. As for the other German pair, Kindervater and Piotrowski, they didn’t have the luck against Indonesia’s second-seeded Nova Widianto and Lilyana Natsir. Korea’s unseeded pair of Lee’s, youngster Lee Yong-Dae and veteran Lee Hyo-Jung, successfully defeated Denmark’s seventh-seeded Laybourn and Rytter Juhl in a game of rubber set 21-15, 20-22 and 21-19 in 55 minutes. The Swiss Open champions had a chance to end the match in two games at 20-all in the second but they unfortunately presented 2 straight points to the Danes.

Denmark’s Tine Rasmussen managed to win her match against Japanese Yonekura Kanako with two games of 21-19 each. Fourth-seeded Lu Lan of China made her way into the quarter-finals easily by beating Juliane Schenk of Germany 21-15, 21-8 in only 30 minutes. Hong Kong’s unseeded Zhou Mi made the onlookers grind their teeth as she took defending champion Zhu Lin down in the first game 21-11. Many thought that after the withdrawal of the first seed Xie Xingfang and the loss of second seeded Zhang Ning, the third seeded Zhu Lin would be the next to fall off the track. However, Zhu Lin started to put in more effort and although Zhou Mi was, in her way, performing well, Zhu managed to turn the match around and ended it 11-21, 21-17, 21-16. As for sixth-seeded Wang Chen of Hong Kong, she was also slammed by the Bulgarian Petya Nedelcheva in the first game 17-21 but made up for it by taking the next two games 21-11, 21-10.

The men’s singles matches in the earlier evening started with the showdown between one of the three Malaysian men remaining in the draw, Sairul Amar Ayob and the veteran Korean, Shon Seung Mo. Sairul Amar’s arrival in the stadium brought loud cheers from the spectators. The first game between the two was a game of stamina. The Korean erased Sairul’s early lead and the two were neck-and-neck until 20-all when Shon ended it by taking two straight points. Shortly after that, Sairul Amar managed to show the Korean some skills by winning the second game 21-5. However, the determined Korean, who had made his way through from the qualifying round, finally ended the rubber game 21-17 and sent the Malaysian off the Malaysian Open 2008 track.

The match between the two Indonesians, sixth-seeded Taufik Hidayat and youngster Simon Santoso started with the cheers of the Indonesian fans. The spectators crowded to the seats just beside the court they were playing in and started to cheer as if it were the finals. Santoso (pictured here) sent his elder compatriot off in just two games 21-18, 21-16 in 40 minutes. Next was the Malaysian top singles hopeful Lee Chong Wei’s match against Poland’s Wacha. Lee won the first game 21-5 without having to do much. Later on, Wacha turned the tables and took the second game 21-15. Just as the Malaysian fans started to worry that this VIP of Malaysian badminton would not make it, Lee hurried and ended the match much as it had begun, with a convincing 21-8 score in the short, deciding game. Lee Chong Wei’s victory got the national supporters all pumped up and earned by far the loudest cheer of the early evening.

MALAYSIA OPEN 2008 – Good day for Malaysians

2008-01-22T12:13:00.000+08:00

It may only be the first day of the Super Series Proton Malaysia Open 2008 in Bukit Jalil Putra Stadium today. However, there were several matches of high quality and also, quite a number of huge upsets involving some top players. In spite of that, the number of Malaysians who have performed well on their home ground is enough to put smiles on the faces of most Malaysian supporters who were cheering for the players in the stadium.
.

“I wasn’t very confident that I could beat Wong Choong Hann (pictured) today. I haven’t been training consistently lately as I had been busy with my family. I know my condition now and as you can tell from my voice, I am not feeling well today.” Chen Hong couldn’t be more explicit. Just as expected by the Chinese veteran men's singles player himself, he was defeated by the Malaysian veteran, Wong Choong Hann in two games; 13-21, 8-21. In the round of 16 on Thursday evening, the Malaysian will be meeting China’s Bao Chunlai, who beat Hong Kong’s Chan Yan Kit by 21-14, 21-13. This win is a good one for Wong, who is battling with 3 of his teammates for the only remaining Olympic spot available and every point and round is important.

In a fraternal battle, Malaysia’s sweetheart and top seed Lee Chong Wei and KLRC’s Sairul Amar Ayob defeated the Hashim siblings, successfully putting their names down in the list of the following round. They will then be playing, respectively, Wacha of Poland, and Korea’s Shon Seung Mo, who made it through from the qualifying round yesterday. Indonesians had a different fate as Taufik barely survived his first round against Park Sung Hwan of Korea – enjoying some controversial calls going his way, while World Championship runner-up Dwi Kuncoro was kicked out of the draw by Lee Hyun Il to make it even in the Korea-Indonesia battle.

MALAYSIA OPEN 2008 – Withdrawals, Yet Enthusiasm for Kick-off

2008-01-19T21:07:00.000+08:00

This year’s Malaysia Open has been hampered by the withdrawal of top players like Lin Dan, Xie XingFang, Boonsak Ponsana and Peter Gade. However, to most of Malaysian fans, it means an extra chance for local players like Lee Chong Wei and Wong Mew Choo to do well.
.

“It is good to know that Lin Dan withdrew, however I will not take it for granted as I would only have met him in the finals even if he had played in this tournament. His withdrawal will only make it easier for players in the top half of the draw. It really doesn’t concern me anyway at this early stage. This tournament will still be a challenge for me as I’m expected to do well on home ground. Talk about pressure! But I will try my best to play and to satisfy the fans,” said Chong Wei.

Lin Dan wasn’t expected to play in Malaysia Open as he had announced quite early that he would skip the first Super Series of the year to focus on the Korea Open next week. However, other big names were missing from the line up sheet after the managers' meeting. Peter Gade had to stay home due to personal reasons, while Xie Xingfang, top seed in the women’s singles event, chose not to come, citing injury.

Badminton News Around World

2008-01-15T21:33:00.000+08:00

KOREA OPEN - Taufik to skip event

Tuesday, 15 January 2008

In an interview given to "The Star" of M, Taufik Hidayat announced that he will skip the Korea Open and concentrate on the All England and Olympics - his two targets this year, hinting that the Malaysia Open was just meant for him to get " a feeling of playing again" after he got an injury during SEA GAMES.

The Olympic champion had warned on many occasions that he would not return to Korea due to bad line judging; He did not however, this time, give this excuse to skip the 300 000 Won event, in Seoul next week. Lin Dan, on his side, will be travelling to Seoul after he skipped Malaysia Open.

BWF - New Website
Monday, 14 January 2008

The Badminton World Federation has launched its new website at the usual address http://www.internationalbadminton.org/. On top of the features which were already on the old website, the new set up is clear, well organised with video clips promised for February. Badzine wishes good luck to this new website.

Badminton Newsflash

2008-01-12T18:31:00.000+08:00

Lin Dan "King of Blisters"?

Friday, 11 January 2008

Lin Dan was made aware of having been nicknamed "King of Blisters" by his girlfriend Xie Xingfang after the badminton World Champion had opted out from the Malaysia Open citing this unusual injury. Lin was apparently complaining about his new shoes, which had given him a lot of blisters on the soles of his feet. He was, however, able to play and win an exhibition match in Guangdong Province, 21-14, 21-17 against his compatriot Bao Chunlai. Later Xie Xingfang beat Zhang Ning 10-21, 21-19, 21-16. Yang and Zhang got the best of new pairing Gao and Zhao in straight games while the men's doubles final was under way between Cai/Fu and Guo/Sun.

OBITUARY - Former Indonesia Legend dies at 80

Friday, 11 January 2008

Former Indonesian Legend Nyoo Kim Bie, has died at the age of 80 at the private St. Vincentius hospital in Surabaya - East Java. Nyoo had been a key to win the Thomas Cup championships twice, in Singapore in 1958 and in Malaysia in 1961 for his country. He also won the Malaysia Open in 1959 and 1963 and the Indonesia Open in 1963 and remains one of Indonesia's greatest players.

PRIZE MONEY - Equal

Thursday, 10 January 2008

From 2008 onwards, male and female shuttlers will be getting the same amount of money, as decided by BWF, the International Badminton Federation. This has resulted in a change of repartition in the prize money of all events, including a slight drop for the men's single and men's double winners.

OLYMPICS - Indonesians Promised $100,000 for Gold

Tuesday, 08 January 2008

As in 2004, Indonesians who win a gold medal in Beijing in August will be granted 1 million Rp (over US$100,000) by the National Sports Council, said Indonesia's NSC as reported by the Jakarta Post. This sum is the same won by Taufik Hidayat in 2004 and by Candra Wijaya and Tony Gunawan in 2000.

The Indonesian governement, however, is seeking sponsors to provide this cash bonus - as happened with the previous editions - to avoid having to dig into its own funds. The reward for silver will be 500 million Rp (US$50,000 ) and 250 million Rp (US$25,000 ) will go to any bronze-medallists.

OLYMPIC FLAME - Gong Zhichao gets the honour

Tuesday, 08 January 2008

Gong Zhichao, Olympic Gold Medallist in Sydney 2000, had the honour of carrying the Olympic flame during a celebration held on January 6th, in Changsha, Hunan Province, where 2008 people had gathered to participate in a "rope fight". The flame had started its journey in Beijing and is now touring China.

France's Pi Hongyan should be one of the torch bearers when the torch comes to France.

KOREA OPEN 2008 PREVIEW

2008-01-12T12:33:00.000+08:00

The Korea Open has had a patchy record of reliably indicating Olympic Gold, having got it right for women’s singles and doubles in 2004, none in 2000, women’s singles and men’s doubles in 1996, and men’s and women’s doubles the first time around, in 1992, when both events were in their infancy.

All the defending champions have returned except Huang Sui, who has retired from competition, thus leaving Gao Ling to partner Zhao Tingting. The field includes the current world number ones in all but men’s doubles who surely must start off as favourites.

You Again?

Taufik Hidayat (pictured) has now booked a second rendevous with Park Sung Hwan in first rounds during January 2008. The Indonesian has not lost in their four meetings but back-to-back encounters across the space of a week does nothing to disadvantage the Korean. Park could go forth with the mindset that the first one was practice, and the second time is for real. Park will know better than to count on the crowd for support, however, as he will not have forgotten his loss to Bao Chunlai in the first round a year ago in front of near-empty, silent stands.

Will Taufik be hot in Malaysia and cold in Korea? He has yet to reach the podium at the Korea Open and his only ever win in Korea came at the 2002 Busan Asian Games. In the interest of Olympic qualification, Taufik found he had to participate in more tournaments than he normally would in 2007 and coincidentally his genius failed to fully surface. Considering his stated intention to retire this year, it will be interesting to see if he decides to cut the strategy and make regaining his rhythm a priority.

Lin Dan's Super Series debut in 2008 is against none other than Boonsak Ponsana. The Thai will no doubt be eager to start the year off with another upset of the World #1 like the one he pulled off in Singapore last year en route to clinching his own Super Series title, that being their last encounter.

Malaysia’s draw woes flow on. It's a shame popular Malaysian players Wong Choong Hann and Lee Tsuen Seng will meet each other in the first round. The two veterans still posess pure talent in spades and one wishes success to both but, alas, there can only be one on this occasion. Lee Tsuen Seng may well fancy his chances in Seoul should he meet Bao Chunlai in the second round. Lee came very close to winning their last encounter at the Worlds in a match strewn with left handed crosscourt shots that was a pleasure to behold.

Two more Lees should meet in the second round: Chong Wei and Hyun Il that is, in one of several battles of former world number ones.

MALAYSIA 2008 SUPER SERIES : No lucky draw for home players

2008-01-07T11:42:00.000+08:00

The badminton world is eagerly awaiting the start of the new Super Series season, which will kick off in just over a week with the Malaysian Open Super Series and, as last year, the draw was very tough on the Malaysians with top players facing each other as early as the first round.

The men's singles event faces a major absence as the world number one, Lin Dan, withdrew from the tournament. Therefore, all Malaysians will likely have their hopes up for Lee Chong Wei, who has been promoted to the number one seed. However, he will have to meet compatriot Hafiz Hashim in the very first round. Lee Chong Wei (photo) should meet Indonesia’s idol, Taufik Hidayat in the quarter-final for one of the highlights of the tournament. Another disappointment for the local crowd will be that several other Malaysian players will have to meet each other as Sairul Amar Ayob and Roslin Hashim are going to fight for a spot in the second round.

Indonesian players must also feel as if this draw is punishing them as all their participants to the main draw will certainly meet some problems from the very first round as Sony Dwi Kuncoro is set to meet Lee Hyun Il from Korea, former world number one, followed by Taufik Hidayat facing Park Sung Hwan and finally Simon Santoso against Thailand's talent Boonsak Ponsana.

Accomodation Info - IndoProf repost

2008-01-03T00:07:00.000+08:00

Room for Rent
-------------

1 common room HDB for rent, $700 incl PUB, A/C and internet or $500 excl PUB, internet and without A/C at Toa Payoh Lorong 1, 3 min walking distance to Braddel MRT. Wardrobe & bed provided. Stay with 2 Indonesian-Chinese Female. Hawker Centre and 24hr Mcdonald just downstairs and KFC opposite. Available Jan 2008. Interested, pls call Ping-Ping (90596301) or Pelly (81823409). Indonesian and working professional female is preferable, neat and tidy. No Agent and no agent fee.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Only for single working female. (no sharing). Min lease term: 1 year. Room comes with air con, single bed, wardrobe, mirror, desk and chair. Located in the heart of CBD.Direct buses to Raffles Place, Suntec, Vivocity, Great World City, Chinatown, Orchard, etc. 10 min walk from Tanjung Pagar MRT or 13 min walk from Outram Park MRT. Rent comes with maid service. (wash,iron,clean and cook). Share with owner (small family + maid). Asking for $650 incl PUB and internet or $700 to add 20"LCD TV,Cable TV and DVD player at your own room. Available 1st Jan 08. Call 93390675.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Spacious master room available for rent. Private apartment, fully furnished, A/C. PUB, Internet & Laundry is taken care of. Balestier area - minutes to cinema, grocery stores, restaurants/ hawkers. Asking for $1300. Please contact Jesica at 92455043 for more details.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2 common rooms (fully furnished) at Spottiswoode Park (Blk 104, high floor) for rent, $600. The master bedroom occupied by landlord. Near to all ammenities & 10 min walk to Outram Park MRT, 2 bus stops to Chinatown. Professional lady only. Available 1st Jan and 1st Feb. Interested, pls call Surya 9818-4987.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

One common room for rent in 3 bedroom condo. it is near to Changi Business Park and Simei / Expo MRT. Internet will be provided. Full condo facilities available we are family looking for male or female for common room. Call Vish 8161 2237.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1 common rooms (fully furnished,AirCond) at Toa Payoh lor 5 (Blk 34) for rent, $475 ea excl PUB, broadband internet. cooking allowed, sharing with Indonesian,no owner. prefer male professional, non-smoker. Near to all ammenities eg Toa Payoh Central,Toa Payoh Sport Complex, Library & within walking distance (about 10-15 mins) to Toa Payoh MRT, Available Jan 08. Please sms to 98554745 / 90238070.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Room available (with a/c+ free internet) for Daily / Short Term; 10min walking to Jurong East MRT & IMM. Rental $60/day for 2 persons. Additional person can be negotiated. Please contact/sms to 97153063.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Master bed room w/ bathroom attached @ Hume Park 1 Condo. Fully furnished, Internet, bathtub + water heater, Avail 1 Jan 2008. Prefer Indonesian. $700/mth (One person/ two person sharing are welcome. NO additional charge!) Rental NOT include PUB and internet. For viewing, pls contact Yasin @ 97547521.

Auld Lang Syne

2008-01-02T21:22:00.001+08:00

Let's forget the past, Let face the future. Let's start the new year with new hopes and wishes. May all your wishes become reality. Good Luck. Jia You. Maju terus, Pantang Mundur.

Happy New Year 2008 - BuluSG Flash Back

2008-01-01T21:40:00.000+08:00

Dear my BuluSG members,

It’s been a great year for everyone at BuluSG and we’re glad BuluSG still exist and consistently able to organise the exciting badminton games week-in and week-out and we are glad that you’ve been there to enjoy and have fun with us.

We have a healthy of about 15 active players, who almost always come to play on Saturday either at Toa Payoh or Bishan Sports Hall. Thanks for all the support during this years.

For about 4 months during 2007 (July ~ October), we have arranged additional session every Tuesday evening. This is to acommodate those who can not come to play on Saturday. But unfortunately we have to stop it, coz most of the players are getting busier. Some stated that they can not come because of work/family matters, for my case because my job doesn't allow me to leave on time. We will resume the session once we have enough players who can commit to play regularly. So don't forget to check this blog regularly.

One of BuluSG senior member, that is Robin and his wife Yeni, has migrated to Australia. So far no news from them, hope if they read this post, they will response and update us with their story, such as: where to play bulu if you are in Aussie, favourite hang out place, good food, etc.

We also see a lot of new faces joining BuluSG, some play once or twice and never appeared again. But some others become regular players, to mention some names : Leo, Jimmy & Kumar. These guys play regularly and they really trying hard to improve their games. Try harder boys ... there is always some area to improve. We at BuluSG are happy to see a new blood stream of BuluSG generation.

The next thing is to improve the quality of BuluSG, we have quantity but a bit lack of quality. I am sure this can be improved as long as we play regularly and more seriously. Try to improve every time you play. You will feel satisfied everytime you put an effort and try to win the game.

Yes, I believe we can do it.

Last but not least, congrats to Junwin and Chris, who recently become the father again for their 2nd kids. We hope little Junwin and Chris will bring more fun and joy to both of your families

Hopefully this year Junwin can continue to help us book the courts and the price of the shuttlecock are stable and we all can play regularly.

BuluSG has no special plan for 2008, keep playing, keep smashing, keep dropshotting, keep netting, hehehe and enjoy the game ...

Long life BuluSG ...

PS.
BuluSG blog born on 1st Dec 2007, I hope I can mantain this blog regularly and update you all with quality articles, news and videos about ... what else? of coz badminton ...

If you like and enjoy reading BuluSG blog, please do not hesitate to leave your comments. This will help me to improve my blog. There is a comment link on every post (after the wording Posted by queen, see below), you can leave your comments by clicking on the link. Thanks bro ...

Badminton Equipment - Badminton Rackets

2008-01-01T21:30:00.000+08:00

Modern Badminton Rackets are light in weight and usually below 100 grams. The frame of the Racket can be made of steel, aluminum, carbon fiber, ceramic, boron or a combination of some of these.

It shall not exceed 680mm in overall length and 230 mm in overall width.

So how to choose a Badminton Racket that suits you most?

Don't be overly economical. The lower priced rackets are usually quite heavy because they are made of cheaper material. You will tend to use more arm movements rather than your wrist to hit the shuttle if your wrist muscle is not strong enough.

This will lead you to develop bad habits.

Heavier rackets are mostly preferred by players who have much stronger wrists and can therefore make use of the weight of the racket to extract more power from it. So unless you are in this category, I would suggest you purchase one that is not too heavy.

The weight should not exceed more than 100 grams.

A majority of racket manufacturers use 1U, 2U, 3U, 4U to indicate the weight of the racket, 1U being the heaviest and 4U the lightest. The weight of high quality rackets range from 83 grams to 100 grams.

Most racket manufacturers provide four grip sizes. In Japan, they range from G2, G3, G4 to G5 where G2 is the biggest size and G5 is the smallest size. In some countries, the opposite applies. Some brands go by small, medium and big sizes.

Choose a grip size that you feel comfortable with. Generally, attacking players prefer bigger grips as they need to hold the racket more tightly to generate power.

Players who like to rally and make use of deception usually prefer a smaller grip so that the racket is easier to turn in their hands.

Buy a head-cover with your racket, and use it whenever you are not playing. Remember not to store your racket close to the central heating radiators, or leave it exposed to sunlight inside a car.

Treat your Badminton Racket with respect at all times…

Go to a reputable shop which specializes in sports rackets. If possible, try out a few before buying. We have some good quality rackets here at great prices, check it out!

Whenever you are in doubt, you can always ask an experienced player for advice or come back to visit this page...

Badminton Equipment - Shuttlecock

2008-01-01T21:03:00.000+08:00

A Shuttlecock shall have 16 feathers fixed in a cork base covered in kid leather. Interestingly, the best Badminton Shuttlecocks are made from feathers from the left wing of a goose.

The feathers shall be measured from the tip to the top of the base and each shuttle shall be of the same length. This length can be between 62mm and 70mm. The shuttle shall weigh between 4.74 to 5.50 grams.

Shuttles are usually graded according to speed. If you have reached a certain level and can hit from baseline to baseline, use standard speed shuttlecocks. If your strength is not there yet, you can use shuttlecocks of a slightly faster speed.

You will enjoy the game more if you can send the shuttles to the baseline.

The speed at which the shuttle travels is also affected by the weather, altitude and temperature. When it’s hot, the shuttle will fly faster. When it’s cold, the shuttle will move slower. If you are playing in an air-conditioned hall, use a slightly faster shuttle. If you’re playing at high altitude, use a slower speed shuttle.

To test the speed of a shuttle, use a full underhand stroke which makes contact with the shuttle over the back boundary line. You shall hit the shuttle at an upward angle and in a direction parallel to the side lines.

A shuttle of correct speed will land not less than 530 mm and not more than 990mm short of the Badminton Court back boundary line as in the diagram below.

If you find the shuttle is too fast or too slow but you don’t have shuttles of different speed, you can try tipping the shuttlecock. Tipping the feathers of the shuttles outward will slow it down. Tipping the feathers of the shuttles inward will speed it up.