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Monday August 2, 2010

Hyun-il concedes walkover to Chong Wei in Macau final

By RAJES PAUL

PETALING JAYA: The fans had hoped for an epic climax in the Macau Open’s men singles showdown but it turned out to be a letdown when Malaysia’s Lee Chong Wei won his sixth international title without having to raise his racquet.

Yesterday, Chong Wei did not sweat for his US$9,000 prize money when South Korean Lee Hyun-il conceded a walkover due to knee injury.

The surprise pullout prevented the Korean from playing against the Malaysian for the first time in two years.

Chong Wei last played against Hyun-il at the 2008 Olympic Games when the former toiled hard to beat the stubborn Korean to advance into his first Games final in Beijing.

Hyun-il went into retirement after the defeat and only made a comeback two months ago when he was persuaded by the coaches to play in the Thomas Cup Finals.

Chong Wei, though disappointed over his ‘easy win’, will not focus on his preparation for the World Championships, which will be held in Paris from Aug 23-29.

He said that the good run in the first seven month of the year would serve as a good warm-up for the challenging time that awaits him in Paris.

“It would have been good for the fans if we had played but we heard from the team doctor that Hyun-il was injured,” said Chong Wei in a telephone interview.

“Still, it feels good to win my sixth Open title and the successes certainly puts me in a good stead ahead of the world championships,” he said.

This year, Chong Wei won four Super Series titles – in South Korea, Malaysia, England and Indonesia. Besides Macau, he also won another Grand Prix Gold event in Malaysia last month.

Chong Wei said he would need more than luck to become the country’s first world champion in Paris.

“I have never done well in the world championships. I also had several titles before heading for the world championships (in India) last year but I did not go far. I have never been lucky in this major event,” he said.

“This time, I intend to break that barrier. Hopefully, I can maintain my good run and achieve something special for the country.

Chong Wei will have only one-week training in Malaysia when he returns from Macau. He will head for London on Aug 10 for a centralised training at Bath University as part of the national team’s preparation for the world meet.

Chong Wei said that he chose not to object to the idea of training at London.

“It will be a little rush for me but I will follow the decision by the BAM (Badminton Association of Malaysia). They must have a good reason. To me, it is important now to stay focused on the task ahead.”

Meanwhile, South Koreans Ko Sung-hyun-Yoo Yeon-seong made up for the shock first round defeat of their more illustrious compatriots Lee Yong-dae-Jung Jae-sung when they nailed the men’s doubles title yesterday.

The duo defeated Indonesians Alven Yulianto-Hendra Gunawan 21-17, 21-15 for the title.

High hopes were on Yong-dae, who was playing in his first tournament since injuring his elbow after the Swiss Open in March, but his early exit in the tournament showed that he was still not back to his best yet.

Results

Men’s singles: Lee Chong Wei (Mas) w.o. Lee Hyun-il (Kor). Men’s doubles: Ko Sung-hyun-Yoo Yeon-seong (Kor) bt Alven Yulianto-Hendra Gunawan (Ina) 21-17, 21-15.

Women’s singles: Li Xuerui (Chn) bt Adriyanti Firdasari (Ina) 21-18, 21-15.

Women’s doubles: Cheng Wen-hsing-Chien Yu-chin (Tpe) bt Meiliana Jauhari-Greysia Polii (Ina) 16-21, 21-18, 21-16.

Mixed doubles: Tontowi Ahmad-Lilyana Natsir (Ina) but Hendra Gunawan-Vita Marissa (Ina) 21-14, 21-18.

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