KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 24 (Bernama) -- The emergence of the Formula One (F1) team from Malaysia, the inconsistent performance of the country's elite athletes for the London Olympics and the success of the Malaysian contingent at the recent SEA Games in Laos made headlines in the country's sports scene in 2009.
Although the year began with the spread of Influenza A(H1N1), resulting in many sports tournaments, locally and abroad, to be cancelled or postponed, the pandemic was contained in Malaysia and this enabled the sports activities for the year to be carried out as planned.
The announcement on the formation of the Malaysia F1 team, the Lotus Racing Team, sponsored by three corporate figures -- Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes, Datuk Kamarudin Meranun and S.M. Nasarudin S.M. Nasimuddin - through the establishment of 1Malaysia Racing Team Sdn Bhd (1MRT), made front-page headlines in all newspapers in Malaysia in September.
The Lotus Racing Team's entry as the 13th team on the F1 grid, as confirmed by the International Automobile Federation (FIA), will make its first appearance at the Bahrain Circuit in March.
Malaysia's involvement, previously, was through the national petroleum company, Petronas, as a partner in the Sauber Petronas and BMW Sauber teams.
The first meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Sports Development held in September and chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, announced an allocation of RM16 million for 2009-2012 for the "Road to London 2012" programme.
Nineteen national athletes are being trained under the programme with the aim of bringing Malaysia's first Olympic gold from the London Games.
Early this year, Malaysia pinned its gold medal hopes on cycling and badminton at the London Olympics, but the hopes were dashed at the end of this season with their dismal performance and the excuse given was that the athletes were tired from taking part in one competition after another.
In cycling, especially the track event, the hope was on Terengganu's Azizulhasni Awang, who won two silver medals in the 200m sprint at the World Track Championship in Poland in March and then two gold medals in the same event at the Asia Cycling Championship in Kalimantan, Indonesia, in August.
His best achievement was winning the Grand Prix Medellin in Colombia in October, defeating world champion Gregory Bauge from France.
Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek was full of praise for the young cyclist, regarding him as Malaysia's "golden boy".
However, Azizulhasni, 21, did not perform as expected at the UCI Track World Cup in Manchester, England and in Melbourne, both held in November, as he was tired and had to also give time to his studies at Deakin University, Melbourne.
The cyclist, nicknamed Pocketrocketman by the foreign media, won a bronze in the Keirin event in Manchester and silver in the same event in Melbourne.
Badminton ace Datuk Lee Chong Wei continues to be world number one men's singles shuttler, winning the super series championships this year - the Indonesia, Switzerland, Malaysia and Hong Kong Open and the World Super Series in Johor Baharu in early December.
He also won the Grand Prix in Malaysia and Macau. But he did not compete in the 25th SEA Games in Laos, giving fatigue as the reason.
National doubles pair of Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong were back in the top ranking of the World Badminton Federation in early November.
Malaysia is also hoping for gold at the London Olympics in the diving event through Leong Mun Yee and Pandelela Rinong, who won a bronze medal in the World Championship in Rome in June.
For the SEA Games in Vientiane, Laos from Dec 9 to 18, Malaysia sent 348 athletes and 120 officials and they surpassed the 35-medal target by bringing home 40 gold, 40 silver and 59 bronze medals.
Although most of the gold, totaling 15, came from the aquatic events, the one gold medal that Malaysia had been waiting for 20 years was won by the national men's Under-23 football team.
The team, coach by K.Rajagobal, defeated Vietnam 1-0, a victory which could indicate the return of the glory days of Malaysian football.
Malaysia took part in 21 of the 25 sports events at the SEA Games. They were aquatics (swimming, diving), archery, track and field, badminton, snooker & billiard, boxing, cycling, football, golf, judo, karate, silat, petanque, sepak takraw, shooting, ping-pong, tennis, volleyball, weight-lifting, wushu and taekwondo.
It did not take part in four events - soft tennis, wrestling, muay thai and shuttle jiggling.
Malaysia will sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the University of Bath in Britain in February next year to enable Malaysian athletes for the 2012 Olympic Games in London to train there.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Lin Dan
Lin Dan born October 14, 1983 in Longyan, Fujian) is the current dominant player of world badminton from China, his ethnicity belongs to the Hakka ancestry. He has been nicknamed "Super Dan" by his fans. Lin won the men's singles gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics.
He is the only player in badminton history to have won three singles world championship titles having done so consecutively in 2006, 2007, and 2009. He currently has a romantic relationship with fellow Chinese badminton player Xie Xingfang.
Lin became one of the dominant players of men's singles, winning nine top tier international championships between 2002 and 2004. In a surprise loss, he was eliminated as the no.1 seed in the first round of the badminton men's singles in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. However, he has continued his dominance in international tournaments and has been continuously ranked number one in the world since early 2004, except for a very brief period of time in 2006 when Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia overtook him.
Among the tournaments Lin Dan have won are the All-England Open (2004, 2006, 2007 and 2009), the BWF World Championships (2006, 2007 and 2009), and the Olympic Games (2008). He has helped China win three consecutive Thomas Cup (men's world team) championships in 2004, 2006, and 2008 and has also been a major contributor to Chinese teams which won the Sudirman Cup (combined men's and women's team championship) in 2005, 2007 and 2009.
Lin Dan is a left-handed player whose most defining characteristic is his ability to attack with fast smashes at steep angles. He combines quick movements around the court with the ability to maintain long aggressive rallies to win the majority of his matches. He relies on diving to retrieve his opponents attacking shots with an exceptionally fast recovery. His well built physique helps him to produce powerful straight and cross court jump smashes, and his fast penetrating footwork makes him one of the toughest active badminton players in the open circuit. At one time he was criticized for a lack of precision or refinement, especially when compared to competitors such as Taufik Hidayat and Peter Gade. However, Lin now occasionally uses deceiving wrist movements and employs a wider variety of shots, developing into a more complete player.
He is the only player in badminton history to have won three singles world championship titles having done so consecutively in 2006, 2007, and 2009. He currently has a romantic relationship with fellow Chinese badminton player Xie Xingfang.
Lin became one of the dominant players of men's singles, winning nine top tier international championships between 2002 and 2004. In a surprise loss, he was eliminated as the no.1 seed in the first round of the badminton men's singles in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. However, he has continued his dominance in international tournaments and has been continuously ranked number one in the world since early 2004, except for a very brief period of time in 2006 when Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia overtook him.
Among the tournaments Lin Dan have won are the All-England Open (2004, 2006, 2007 and 2009), the BWF World Championships (2006, 2007 and 2009), and the Olympic Games (2008). He has helped China win three consecutive Thomas Cup (men's world team) championships in 2004, 2006, and 2008 and has also been a major contributor to Chinese teams which won the Sudirman Cup (combined men's and women's team championship) in 2005, 2007 and 2009.
Lin Dan is a left-handed player whose most defining characteristic is his ability to attack with fast smashes at steep angles. He combines quick movements around the court with the ability to maintain long aggressive rallies to win the majority of his matches. He relies on diving to retrieve his opponents attacking shots with an exceptionally fast recovery. His well built physique helps him to produce powerful straight and cross court jump smashes, and his fast penetrating footwork makes him one of the toughest active badminton players in the open circuit. At one time he was criticized for a lack of precision or refinement, especially when compared to competitors such as Taufik Hidayat and Peter Gade. However, Lin now occasionally uses deceiving wrist movements and employs a wider variety of shots, developing into a more complete player.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
East Asian Games Results
A big team, including 97 sports’ athletes from Mongolia has participated in the events of Badminton, Bowling, Cycling, Judo, Shooting, Weightlifting, Wushu Sanshou, Table-tennis, Tennis, Cue Sports and Taekwondo at the Fifth East Asian Games 2009.
Mongolian Taekwondo athlete N.Erdenebaatar won a silver medal in the men’s 67kg event; Kim Eung hyun from South Korea took the gold medal; Chen Jiande from China and Lo Tsubg Jui from Taipei received bronze medals in the event.
D.Lkhagvadorj from Mongolia won a gold medal in the men’s 58kg’s event and B.Tuyasaikhan took a bronze medal in the women’s 59kg event; Lim Chulho from South Korea won the gold medal and Chan Yi Chieh from Taipei took the silver medal and Xu Yong Zeng from China received a bronze medal in the competition.
Wizard of Mongolia, B.Tuyasaikhan and Wu Qiong from China grabbed bronze medals in the women’s 59kg event.
Tseng Pei-Hua from Taipei won a gold medal and Lee Sung Hye from South Korea was awarded a silver medal in the event.
Mongolia ranked seventh overall and China placed first in the competition on December 7, 2009.
The 5th East Asian Games will continue to be held in Hong Kong from December 5 to 13 2009. Around 2,300 elite athletes have competed for 262 package medals in 22 sporting events, making it the largest international multi-sport event ever held in Hong Kong.
Mongolian Taekwondo athlete N.Erdenebaatar won a silver medal in the men’s 67kg event; Kim Eung hyun from South Korea took the gold medal; Chen Jiande from China and Lo Tsubg Jui from Taipei received bronze medals in the event.
D.Lkhagvadorj from Mongolia won a gold medal in the men’s 58kg’s event and B.Tuyasaikhan took a bronze medal in the women’s 59kg event; Lim Chulho from South Korea won the gold medal and Chan Yi Chieh from Taipei took the silver medal and Xu Yong Zeng from China received a bronze medal in the competition.
Wizard of Mongolia, B.Tuyasaikhan and Wu Qiong from China grabbed bronze medals in the women’s 59kg event.
Tseng Pei-Hua from Taipei won a gold medal and Lee Sung Hye from South Korea was awarded a silver medal in the event.
Mongolia ranked seventh overall and China placed first in the competition on December 7, 2009.
The 5th East Asian Games will continue to be held in Hong Kong from December 5 to 13 2009. Around 2,300 elite athletes have competed for 262 package medals in 22 sporting events, making it the largest international multi-sport event ever held in Hong Kong.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Koo-Tan need to tighten defence to beat Koreans
PETALING JAYA: Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong will have to work on their defensive aspects of play if they harbour hopes of making a successful defence of the men’s doubles title in the Super Series Masters Finals, which will be played in Johor Baru from Dec 2-6.
The world No. 1 failed in their bid to become the first Malaysian pair to win a China Open men’s doubles title when they lost to world No. 2 Jung Jae-sung-Lee Yong-dae of South Korea in the final in Shanghai on Sunday. The battling Koreans won the 76-minute match 21-13, 19-21, 21-18.
Despite the defeat, Kien Keat-Boon Heong will remain as the top ranked pair in the world until the new season begins in January.
The duo still have two tournaments left to play this year. After the Masters Finals, they will feature in the Laos SEA Games.
And national doubles coach Rosman Razak said that Kien Keat-Boon Heong would have to strengthen their defence in the Masters Finals.
“They can expect to play against the Koreans for the Masters Finals title. Koo-Tan will have to more solid in defence apart from maintaining their attacking pace,” he said.
“The Korean pair showed (in the China Open) that they were much better in defence and at times could retrieve more than 10 consecutive shots.
“The good thing is Boon Heong is showing greater determination and does not get frustrated when he fails to kill a rally with his powerful smashes. It’s good for their partnership as they must try to maintain their attacking pace even when things are not going their way.”
Although Kien Keat-Boon Heong failed to get the better of Jae-sung-Yong-dae in Shanghai, Rosman felt that the situation should be different in Johor Baru.
“The shuttle was a bit slow in Shanghai but I think it will be different if this element is taken care of,” he said.
“For Koo-Tan, their recovery is more important as it has been a hectic schedule over the last two months for them, competing in four straight Super Series tournaments (Denmark, French, Hong Kong and China). Overall, they did well to reach three finals and winning one of them.”
Kien Keat-Boon Heong won in Denmark, beating Danes Carsten Mogensen-Mathias Boe but fell to Olympic champions Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan of Indonesia in the French Open. They lost to compatriots Lee Wan Wah-Choong Tan Fook in the quarter-finals of the Hong Kong Open.
The world No. 1 failed in their bid to become the first Malaysian pair to win a China Open men’s doubles title when they lost to world No. 2 Jung Jae-sung-Lee Yong-dae of South Korea in the final in Shanghai on Sunday. The battling Koreans won the 76-minute match 21-13, 19-21, 21-18.
Despite the defeat, Kien Keat-Boon Heong will remain as the top ranked pair in the world until the new season begins in January.
The duo still have two tournaments left to play this year. After the Masters Finals, they will feature in the Laos SEA Games.
And national doubles coach Rosman Razak said that Kien Keat-Boon Heong would have to strengthen their defence in the Masters Finals.
“They can expect to play against the Koreans for the Masters Finals title. Koo-Tan will have to more solid in defence apart from maintaining their attacking pace,” he said.
“The Korean pair showed (in the China Open) that they were much better in defence and at times could retrieve more than 10 consecutive shots.
“The good thing is Boon Heong is showing greater determination and does not get frustrated when he fails to kill a rally with his powerful smashes. It’s good for their partnership as they must try to maintain their attacking pace even when things are not going their way.”
Although Kien Keat-Boon Heong failed to get the better of Jae-sung-Yong-dae in Shanghai, Rosman felt that the situation should be different in Johor Baru.
“The shuttle was a bit slow in Shanghai but I think it will be different if this element is taken care of,” he said.
“For Koo-Tan, their recovery is more important as it has been a hectic schedule over the last two months for them, competing in four straight Super Series tournaments (Denmark, French, Hong Kong and China). Overall, they did well to reach three finals and winning one of them.”
Kien Keat-Boon Heong won in Denmark, beating Danes Carsten Mogensen-Mathias Boe but fell to Olympic champions Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan of Indonesia in the French Open. They lost to compatriots Lee Wan Wah-Choong Tan Fook in the quarter-finals of the Hong Kong Open.
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