Lee Chong Wei Failed At The Japan Open

Lee Chong Wei claimed that his failure to advance to the men badminton single at the Japan Open was due to the celebrations and special functions (after his silver medal in Beijing) that disrupted his preparations.

I understand if he is celebrating for wining the Olympic gold medal. But he is celebrating the winning of the silver medal. A loser, yet he is rewarded for being a loser. And the Japan Open further proved that he is still not good enough for his Datukship title.

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From TheStar

World No. 1 Chong Wei, women’s pair fall at Japan Open

By RAJES PAUL

KUALA LUMPUR: It was a double disappointment for Malaysia at the Japan Open in Tokyo yesterday when Lee Chong Wei was dethroned in the men’s singles while Chin Eei Hui-Wong Pei Tty’s chase to become the queens of the day remained elusive yet again.

After a brilliant start, top seed Chong Wei simply could not keep up with the blistering pace set by Sony Dwi Kuncoro of Indonesia and crashed to a 17-21, 11-21 defeat in a 40-minute battle.

Many would agree that it was certainly not the same Chong Wei who did the country proud a few weeks ago by beating Sony en route to winning a silver medal at the Beijing Olympic Games.

His attacks were way off the mark. There were too many unforced errors and he was even slower than usual especially in the second game.

With the tame defeat yesterday, Chong Wei failed in his bid to justify his current world number one ranking status. He has yet to win a title during his tenure as the world’s top ranked player.

“Sony was just too fast and I could not keep up with his speed. I was tired and was struggling to give that extra push,” said Chong Wei in a telephone interview.

“It is quite normal to experience a draught in the stadium but I failed to adjust to it. There were silly mistakes and that frustrated me even more. Sony was so determined today.

“But I am looking forward to a break from competition next week. (Chong Wei is skipping next week’s China Masters). I hope to get a good rest at home. Hopefully, I will bounce back,” he added.

Women’s world No.11 ranked pair Eei Hui-Pei Tty could not hide their disappointments after letting slip a golden chance to nail their first Open title.

The duo, who have played the bridesmaids’ role three times since teaming up in 2002, went down 19-21, 21-5, 18-21 to China’s youngsters Cheng Shu-Zhao Yunlei in a 54-minute encounter.

Eei Hui was dejected over their defeat to the Chinese pair who are not even ranked in the top 300.

“We have never played them before and it took us a while to get used to their style of play in the first game. We finally got a better grip of the game but it was too late.

“Our standard was about the same and we were so close to beating them. This is so disappointing,” said Eei Hui.

“This Chinese pair hardly go out. But by winning the Japan Open today, they have proved they are the pair to watch in the future.”

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From NST

LEE Chong Wei surrendered his Japan Open crown tamely to Indonesian Sony Dwi Kuncoro while women's doubles Wong Pei Tty-Chin Eei Hui also stumbled at the final hurdle in Tokyo yesterday.
An off-colour Chong Wei turned in a disappointing performance to allow Sony to clinch a 21-17, 21-11 win in 40 minutes.

Sony thus avenged his 21-9, 21-11 loss to the World No 1 in the quarter-finals of last month's Beijing Olympics. Pei Tty-Eei Hui, who have never won a grand prix or a Super Series title, let slip their best opportunity yesterday against China's back-up pair of Cheng Shu-Zhao Yunlei losing 21-19, 5-21, 21-18 in 54 minutes.

It was Cheng Shu-Yunlei's first appearance in a major final while it was Pei Tty-Eei Hui's fourth defeat in a final having lost in the 2005 Indonesia and Dutch Opens as well as this year's Thailand Open.

However, it was Chong Wei's defeat which was really disappointing although the Malaysian was struggling throughout the tournament.

Chong Wei did have chances of putting Sony under pressure when leading 16-12 in the first game but allowed the Indonesian to earn five points on the trot to 17-16.

Sony conceded one more point before wrapping up the first game and was never threatened after that.

Chong Wei, in a telephone interview from Tokyo, said his preparations for the tournament wasn't good enough and that he was not fully fit. "The amount of training I had for the tournament was not sufficient. Also, the celebrations and special functions (after his silver medal in Beijing) disrupted my preparations," said Chong Wei, who added that he also lost a few days of training as he was down with a fever.

"I was struggling in this tournament and today (yesterday) Sony pushed me against the wall. I was tired and couldn't recover after several long rallies.

"I will return to Kuala Lumpur tomorrow (today) and start training. I haven't withdrawn from the Macau Open (beginning on Sept 30) and I have to see how the training goes in the next week."

Chong Wei has skipped the Chinas Masters which begins in Changzhou tomorrow and the only reason he is competing in the Macau Open is to safeguard his World No 1 status.

However, Chong Wei may opt to withdraw from the Macau Open as well as it's tough to improve on one's fitness in just a week.

Meanwhile, Danish veterans Lars Paaske-Jonas Rasmussen captured their second title in as many weeks when they beat rising Indonesian pair Muhammad Ahsan-Bona Septano 21-17, 15-21, 21-13 in 52 minutes.

Paaske-Rasmussen, who reached the semi-finals of the Olympics, won the Taiwan Open last week.

China's back-up player Wang Yihan clinched her first Super Series crown when she beat Hong Kong's Zhou Mi 21-19, 17-21, 21-15 in the women's singles final.

The mixed doubles crown went to Indonesia's Muhammad Rijal-Vita Marissa who upset top-seeded compatriots Nova Widianto-Lilyana Natsir 14-21, 21-15, 21-19.

RESULTS -- (All Finals) Men's Singles: Sony Dwi Kuncoro (Ina) bt Lee Chong Wei (Mas) 21-17, 21-11; Doubles: Lars Paaske-Jonas Rasmussen (Den) bt Muhammad Ahsan-Bona Septano (Ina) 21-17, 15-21, 21-13.

Women's singles: Wang Yihan (Chn) bt Zhou Mi (HK) 21-19, 17-21, 21-15; Doubles: Cheng Shu-Zhao Yunlei (Chn) bt Wong Pei Tty-Chin Eei Hui (Mas) 21-19, 5-21, 21-18.

Mixed Doubles: Muhammad Rijal-Vita Marissa (Ina) bt Nova Widianto-Lilyana Natsir (Ina) 14-21, 21-15, 21-19.