MALAYSIA OPEN 2008 – Good day for Malaysians

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.
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“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.