Tat Meng hopes Mew Choo will make it to All-England semi-finals

KUALA LUMPUR: Women’s singles coach Wong Tat Meng would have already left to take up a new coaching post in Indonesia when Wong Mew Choo plays in the All-England badminton championships in Birmingham next week.

But deep in his heart, there is the hope that Mew Choo will be able to return from the prestigious tournament with her head held high.

Mew Choo, ranked 25th in the world, will play in the All-England with no major injury problems and there is hope that she can achieve a breakthrough by reaching the semi-finals.

Mew Choo will open her campaign against third seed Wang Xin of China, whom she lost to in the second round of the Malaysian Open in January.

Also in her path and a place in the semi-finals are two other Chinese – sixth seed Jiang Yanjiao and Lu Lan.

“I will not be joining her for the All-England but I hope she can dish out something good there,” said Tat Meng.

“We have actually prepared her well this time. Her game has also changed. We have trained her to be stronger in front-court attacks by drilling on certain strokes. It will make her game not so predictable to her opponents.

“Mew Choo is heading in the right direction this year. If her knees don’t give her any problems, I think she will progress well. It is good to see her coming back again.”

Tat Meng will, of course, find satisfaction if Mew Choo manages to make the climb back to the top 10 bracket.

Tat Meng is leaving the national women’s singles squad after a five-year stint to join Chinese coach Li Mao as part of the Indonesian coaching set-up.

The 44-year-old will be the first Malaysian to coach the Indonesian national team and he said that the chance to take up a posting outside the country was too good to resist.

“It’s not just the money but I also want to get a new experience. I have never coached outside Malaysia before and I want to gain more experience,” he said.

“It will be worked out when I arrive there but I guess I will be helping the players to achieve the target of qualifying for the London Olympics next year as what I will still have to do if I remain in Malaysia,” he said.

Mew Choo, who chalked up a sensational win at the 2007 China Open under the guidance of Tat Meng, is not likely to be put under the charge of either Rashid Sidek or Hendrawan, who have their hands full handling the men’s back-up squad.

It is likely that the BAM will get a coach from Indonesia or China to handle the women’s singles squad.