Zii Jia stays calm over tough opener against Jonatan at worlds

PETALING JAYA: Men’s singles Lee Zii Jia (pic) has just started taking baby steps under new coach Wong Tat Meng in resurrecting his career but he has been handed the worst possible draw for the World Championships from Aug 21-27 in Copenhagen. In the draw released by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) yesterday, the unseeded Zii...

Favourable draw at world meet a relief for under-fire junior shuttlers

PETALING JAYA: The national junior shuttlers received some much needed luck after being handed a favourable draw in the group stage of the mixed team event at the World Junior Championships in the United States from Sept 25-30. The junior team led by men’s singles player Eogene Ewe had come under fire recently for their disappointing...

Amazing resolve – Mei Xing’s game for challenge of double duty

PETALING JAYA: Bring it on! Teoh Mei Xing is ready to embrace the challenge of playing in both the women’s and mixed doubles. The national shuttler is set to take on double duty after her women’s doubles partner Anna Cheong recovered from a long-term injury. Mei Xing had combined with Hoo Pang Ron in the mixed doubles when...

Hongyang shows nerves of steal to pip Prannoy to title

PETALING JAYA: Weng Hongyang of China avenged his defeat to H.S. Prannoy in the Malaysian Masters in May by overcoming the Indian in spectacular style to win the Australian Open in Sydney yesterday. Prannoy, 31, was just two points away from clinching his second Badminton World Federation (BWF) tour title when he led 19-14 in the...

Hendrawan keeps Tze Yong’s indomitable spirit up

PETALING JAYA: Accept the defeat, move on and use it as a motivation to work harder. This was the advice given by national men’s singles badminton coach Hendrawan to Ng Tze Yong after the latter crashed out in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open. World No. 21 Tze Yong suffered a narrow 21-17, 24-26, 19-21 defeat to...

Zii Jia’s experience and bravery make the difference in laboured win over Tze Yong

PETALING JAYA: Independent shuttler Lee Zii Jia proved that he is still the country’s No. 1 men’s singles shuttler after storming into the semi-finals of the Australian Open. Despite his struggles, the world No. 17 Zii Jia rose to the occasion to narrowly triumph 17-21, 26-24, 21-19 over his much-improved former national teammate Ng Tze Yong...

BAM boss Norza says sorry to Misbun after offering olive branch, will step down in December

PETALING JAYA: Surprise, surprise! Datuk Misbun Sidek looks set to return as the national junior singles coaching director after the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) president Tan Sri Norza Zakaria offered him an opportunity to end his contract that runs until end of the year. But there’s a twist to the saga. Yesterday, Norza dropped a bombshell by...

Keeping up with the Korean

PETALING JAYA: South Korean shuttler An Se-young is unstoppable right now. And that makes the women’s singles interesting and competitive but also adds immense pressure on all others in the fray to narrow the gap quickly, says Malaysia’s former All-England men’s singles champion Mohd Hafiz Hashim. Hafiz, who is now coaching India’s P.V. Sindhu, knows he has...

James says it’s fair to terminate Misbun if he had been forewarned

PETALING JAYA: Never take sides when you do not have a complete picture of the incident. This was the view expressed by former great Datuk James Selvaraj following the dismissal of Datuk Misbun Sidek from his position as the national junior singles coaching director. Even though Misbun has a contract that runs until the end of this...