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Thorny path to title

Sabtu, 16 September 2006 07:51:23
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By RAJES PAUL

PETALING JAYA: One is cocky. One is controversial. The third is the most liked player in the world of badminton. And any one of them could spoil it for Malaysias Lee Chong Wei.

Chinas Lin Dan, Indonesias Taufik Hidayat, and Peter Gade-Christensen of Denmark are the three genuine title contenders from the lower half of the mens singles draw in the World Championships, which will begin in Madrid on Monday.

And one of them could deny top seed Chong Wei. If the 24-year-old Chong Wei lives up to his top billing, he is likely to meet one of the three in the final.

Second seed Lin Dan is expected to play Mohd Hafiz Hashim in the quarter-finals while the unseeded Taufik and world number four Gade-Christensen should square off in another last eight match.

If Chong Wei meets Lin Dan, who snubbed the organisers after losing to the former in the Malaysian Open final in June, the match could favour the spiky-haired Chinese.

After all, the Malaysian has lost to Lin Dan in six of their eight meetings.

Chong Wei has a 1-2 record against the more fancied Olympic and world champion Taufik.

Against Gade-Christensen, the man hailed as the badminton ambassador, Chong Wei has won twice but was second best at the Thomas Cup Finals in Guangzhou in May.

Malaysias former great Tan Yee Khan felt that Lin Dan would be the favourite to reach the mens singles final from the lower half of the draw.

''This time, I rule out Taufik and Gade-Christensen because they have not been very prominent in the last five Grand Prix tournaments,'' said the former Thomas Cupper.

Taufik defended his title in the Indonesian Open but was an early casualty in the Korean and Macau Opens; did not compete in the Malaysian Open; and walked out of the quarter-final match against Lin Dan during the Hong Kong Open, citing poor line calls.

Since the quarter-final finish in the Malaysian Open, Gade-Christensen has been plagued with a recurring knee problem. He withdrew from the Thailand Open and did not compete in any Opens after that.

''The build-up to the world meet is very important. Taufik and Peter have not had good practice before the world meet,'' said Yee Khan.

He felt the most consistent players were Lin Dan, Chong Wei and Chen Jin of China.

''All three have been very prominent since the Malaysian Open,'' he said.

World number three Chen Jin reached the semi-finals of the Opens in Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong and was runner-up in the Thailand Open while, except for the runner-up spot in the Malaysian Open, Lin Dan was champion in Taiwan, Macau and Hong Kong.

Yee Khan said the three-time Malaysian Open winner Chong Wei, who was runner-up in Taiwan, Macau and Hong Kong, should be wary of Chen Jin.

''He may be a rookie but he will be the most dangerous.''

Chong Wei is expected to meet Chen Jin in the semi-finals. But before that, he may have to cross path with South Korean Shon Seung-mo and another Chinese, Bao Chunlai.

Source:thestar.com.my/sports

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