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

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.”

(Source : The Star)