Who will take over from Chong Wei?

The new squad of singles players do not have the skill, determination or steel to take over from the World No 1.

COMMENT

By Yip Wai Fong

The players waiting in the wings to succeed Lee Chong Wei have all one thing in common – they do have the steel to emulate the master.

Liew Daren, the number two men singles, has the court craft but lacks the killer instinct or the mental stamina.

At the recent Malaysia Open quarter-final match, he was against Jan Jorgensen, the player he defeated twice previously. But this time, he couldn’t make it a third win, succumbing at 21-19, 13-21 and 17-21.

This was a result of too many unforced errors, including the outrageous four successive errors that handed the match to Jorgensen. Jorgensen, on the other hand, was on fire, attacking throughout the three sets and rewarding himself with fist pumps and grunts when he won a point. He was tireless, and therefore, clinched the match by wearing Liew down.

The defeat says something about the new squad of Malaysian men’s singles players who are waiting to take over the mantle from Chong Wei.

At 5 feet 10 inches and 59 kg, Liew is hardly a hunk. His game is also different from Chong Wei, who, at 5 feet 7 inches and 60kg, excels in being fast and aggressive

(Chong Wei was to overpower Jorgensen at the semi-final in three sets, and Sony Dwi Kuncoro in the finals in straight sets.)

Liew is not yet a player with nerves of steel: his unforced errors were signal of buckling under pressure and towards the end, of fatigue.

At 5 feet 5 inches, Chong Wei Feng, the third men singles, looks even smaller than Liew. He has had lesser success at tournaments, often losing to players with more powerful physique and attacking games.

But Rashid Sidek, the national singles chief coach, commended him for solid work ethic. Given that and more patience in his game, he could rise to the top 10, Rashid says.

Developing other strengths

There will be the question, when Chong Wei slows down with age, of who in the local squad could possibly assume the kind of explosive badminton he plays.

After Chong Wei hangs up his racquet, the Badminton Association Malaysia (BAM) will have a tough task finding another of equal skill and guts.

While brawn matters, in the singles department perhaps there is a little more room for speed and skill. Chong Wei’s archrival Lin Dan seems to have all these.

A power shuttler during his younger days, Lin Dan seems to use it sparingly now, preferring to play to the opponents’ weaknesses. But when playing against Chong Wei, he unleashes his reservoir of force.

The results were the tantalising matches of strength, intelligence and spirit from both sides during their last few encounters.

There can be many reasons why Lin Dan was able to keep his stamina at the top level for so many years.

One could be that he is not expected to play as many tournaments as his Malaysian counterpart does.

Second, it could be due to the fact that he is able to develop a game that is less power-reliant. In other words, he has strengths other than the physical ones, and the coaches have helped him developed these.

At the Malaysia Open, Liew showed that he has variety in his game, and hopefully, the BAM coaches will nurture him to be world-class player.

Yip Wai Fong is a badminton fan.