Chong Wei, men's doubles pair keep M'sian flag flying

World number one Datuk Lee Chong Wei eased his way into the quarter-finals of the BWF Badminton World Championships men’s singles competition by demolishing Scott Evans from Ireland in a round three match at the Ballerup Super Arena, here today.

The world number one wasted no time or sweat in packing off Evans 21-11, 21-12 to set up a date with rising Chinese star Wang Zhengming in the quarterfinals.

Despite not having recovered fully from a groin injury that kept him out of the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, Chong Wei showed he was good enough to mount a serious challenge for the elusive world title, albeit in the absence of his arch-rival and nemesis Lin Dan of China.

Chong Wei, though still the world number one, has not won the World Championships or an Olympic gold medal although he has reached the final of the last two World Championships.

"Today's match was not a tough one but tomorrow is going to be a difficult task and I need to prepare for it. My main focus now is not my opponent but my own preparedness.

"However, I will not underestimate the Chinese player although I have beaten him 11 times before. I need to raise my game to an optimum level to move on," he said.

Unlike the singles competition, there was joy and heartbreak for two Malaysian men’s doubles pairs as the competition headed toward the quarterfinal stage.

The country’s second ranked men’s doubles pair Hoon Thien How/Tan Wee Kiong edged Japan’s Takeshi Kamura/Keigo Sonoda 19-21, 21-17, 21-19 to march into the quarterfinals but Koo Kien Keat/Tan Boon Heong were shown the exit by Taiwan’s Lee Sheng Mu/Tsai Chia Hsin.

Despite the win, Thien How-Wee Kiong were unhappy with a number of calls by the umpire which could have robbed them of a victory.

“There were a number of line calls that went against us…in a tournament like the world championships, line judges must be fair. We hope such shortfalls can be rectified before it affects the quality and status of the championships,” said Wee Kiong.

National doubles coach Pang Chen Chang said there were certainly some bad calls by the umpire during the match, especially in the deciding set but he hoped his charges would not face a similar predicament in their next match.

“I have told the players to forget about the shortcoming and concentrate on the next task. They cannot allow the incident to affect their focus,” he said.

The duo will face South Korean pair Ko Sung Hyun/Shin Baek Cheol in the quarterfinal after the South Koreans defeated Japan’s Hiroyuki Endo/Kenichi Hayakawa 23-21-21-17 in straight sets.

Kien Keat-Boon Heong who were the losing finalist in the 2010 World Championships, however, failed to produce a similar feat, losing 21-14, 10-21, 19-21.