NST Online: Sports
NST Online: Sports |
| Badminton: Coach wary of underdogs Posted: 01 Aug 2011 05:08 PM PDT 2011/08/02 THE World Championships have always produced shock results, leading to national singles coach Tey Seu Bock being more cautious about the underdogs rather than the likes of Lin Dan of China and Peter Gade Christensen of Denmark trying to halt Lee Chong Wei in London next week. Lower ranked players have wrecked havoc -- especially until the quarter-final stages in the past -- and Seu Bock played down the hype of Chong Wei reaching the final at the Wembley Arena on Aug 14. Sue Bock's rationale is past records show that Chong Wei has fallen victim -- despite being the top seed -- in 2006, 2009 and last year (all quarter-finals) while he lost in the third round in 2007 when he was the second seed.
Seu Bock named China trio Chen Long, Chen Jin and Du Pengyu as the most dangerous players and the first two are in Chong Wei's half of the draw. Chen Long is supposed to meet Chong Wei in the last eight while Chen Jin, the defending champion, is his expected semi-final opponent.
"China used to depend only on Lin Dan before but this is not the case anymore. Chen Jin won last year after Lin Dan lost in the quarter-finals and thisproves that they can go far. "Then, there are the likes of Peter Gade, who is very consistent, and Japanese players Sho (Sasaki) and Kasuzhi (Yamada) who have been creating a lot of upsets of late.
"Chong Wei also has a potentially tough match in the third round against Park Sung Hwan (South Korea) who beat Lin Dan last year and made the semi-finals. "I only hope that the Japanese and Korean players will beat other big names and make it easier for us. Sasaki has beaten Lin Dan before while Kenichi Tago is likely to play Chen Jin in the third round. I hope these results will be in our favour." Sue Bock has a point as Chong Wei, despite his sterling recent form, can count the World Championships as a meet he has not excelled in with a bronze in 2005 his best achievement. It is best that he takes it one match at a time to ensure he makes the medal rounds first. Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by Used Car Search. |
| Football: Reduced responsibilities for Selangor's Devan Posted: 01 Aug 2011 05:05 PM PDT 2011/08/02 Young Tigers B captain D. Saarvindran has been signed by Selangor to beef up the team. K. Devan has been relieved of his managerial duties with FA of Selangor (FAS) general secretary Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin taking over as manager for the remainder of the season. FAS hopes the change will allow Devan to focus solely on his coaching duties to steer Selangor to their first Malaysia Cup victory since 2005.
Haziq, a striker who played for English club Stevenage FC's Under-18 side, and Nazri, a defender, are both fringe players in the Tigers' squad. The trio, whose contracts with the FA of Malaysia (FAM) end in December, will be given permanent deals if they impress in the Malaysia Cup.
Devan tried out several players, including captain Amri Yahyah and Fadzli Saari, to fill the void left by Safee, but all failed to make an impression. Selangor's uninspiring performance saw them finish third in the Super League.
As for the three new signings, Saarvindran, 19, is the one with the most potential. The former Olympic squad trainee, a midfielder-cum-striker, scored 10 goals in his first season with Tigers B in the 2010 Premier League season. Saarvindran's impressive performance earned him a spot in the national Under-23 squad for a three-month stint to Slovakia last year but was subsequently dropped from the Olympic squad by coach Ong Kim Swee. The Klang-born was again a star in this season's Premier League, where he once again top-scored for Tigers B with six goals. "I am really excited to join Selangor," said Saarvindran, who will officially start training with his new team today. "I am proud, thrilled and can't wait to get going now. Everyone can see that Selangor are a big club, a fantastic club, with tradition and great supporters. "I want to play at the highest level and test myself in the biggest of games. My goal is to make a difference for Selangor in the Malaysia Cup." Devan sang praises of his new signing, admitting his performance in the Premier League played a big part in his desire to bring him to Selangor. "Saarvindran is a very hardworking midfielder, who can score goals and is versatile. Haziq and Nazri are also very good players. "Their presence will boost Selangor's chances in the Malaysia Cup," said Devan. Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by Used Car Search. |
| You are subscribed to email updates from NST Online: Sports To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 ulasan:
Catat Ulasan