Lee Chong Wei was in imperious form, and so too, was Wong Mew Choo as both Malaysians got off to winning starts in the US$500,000 YONEX-SUNRISE BWF World Super Series Masters Finals 2009 in Johor Bahru, Malaysia.
Chinese Taipei’s Hsieh Yu Hsin and India’s Saina Nehwal found out the hard way as they slumped to straight games defeat at the Johor Municipal Stadium. SS-Finals-D1-saina
Chong Wei, the top seed and World No 1, hardly put a foot wrong as he kept a tight rein at the net and backed with powerful smashes down the straight, made the talented Hsieh look ordinary.
“He (Hsieh) is a very good player but the first match is always difficult to play and anything can happen,” said Chong Wei after his 21-12, 21-12 win in the Group A match.
“As for me, I am happy to have started strongly but there are more difficult matches to come and I have to maintain my focus.
“Today’s game is history and I look forward to playing Taufik tomorrow (Thursday).”
The Masters Finals is for the top eight available players and pairs in the Super Series ranking and they are divided to two groups of four.
The top two players and pairs qualify for the crossover semi-finals.
Earlier in the morning, Bao Chunlai beat Taufik 21-18, 26-24 and the latter will be playing for his survival when he takes on Chong Wei on Thursday.
In Group B, Korea’s former Asian champion Park Sung Hwan scored a valuable win over Thailand’s Boonsak Ponsana but was stretched to the maximum in his 28-26, 21-18 win. Ss-Finals-D2-laura-weny
Mew Choo also pulled of an upset win over Saina, the top seed, with her usual brand of rally game.
A last minute replacement after China’s Lu Lan withdrew from the tournament, Mew Choo showed that she was ready to step into the Chinese’s shoes with the 21-13, 13-21, 21-14 win.
Saina, however, was neither surprised with the way Mew Choo played, nor the outcome.
“She is a very good player and capable of defeating any of the top players. In fact, thought she had already qualified for the Masters Finals based on her ranking.
“On my part, I committed too many unforced errors and I paid the price for it. But the tournament is still open and in today’s badminton, the competition is very close amongst the top players.”
Mew Choo takes on Thailand’s Porntip Buranaprasertsuk while Saina can atone her defeat when she takes on Charmaine Reid of Canada.
Results:
Men’s Singles: Group A: Lee Chong Wei (MAS) bt Hsieh Yu Hsin (TPE) 21-11, 21-12; Group B: Park Sung Hwan (KOR) bt Boonsak Ponsana (THA) 28-26, 21-18; Women’s singles: Group A: Wong Mew Choo (MAS) bt Saina Nehwal (IND) 21-13, 13-21, 21-14; Group B: Yao Jie (NED) bt Salakjit Ponsana (THA) 21-14, 21-11; Men’s Doubles: Group A: Xu Chen-Guo Zhendong (CHN) bt Rian Sukmawan-Yonathan Dasuki 26-24, 22-20; Women’s Doubles: Group A: Kamilla Rytter Juhl-Lena Frier Kriatiansen (DEN) bt Gabrielle White-Jenny Wallwork (ENG) 16-21, 21-116, 21-9; Chin Eei Hui-Wong Pei Tty (MAS) bt Charmaine Reid-Nicole Grether (GER) 21-11, 21-11; Mixed Doubles: Group A: Robert Mateusiak-Nadiezda Kostiuczk (POL) bt Joachim Fisher Nielsen-Christinna Pedersen (DEN) 21-19, 21-18; Group B: Hendra Gunawan-Vita Marissa (INA) bt Songphon Anugritayawon-Kunchala Voravichitchaikul (THA) 21-14, 21-13; Anthony Clark-Donna Kellogg (ENG) bt V Diju-Jwala Gutta (IND) 21-15, 21-16.
Source : www.internationalbadminton.org
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