With China, It Is "The Great War" - BAM

By Ainul Huda Mohamed Saaid KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 20 (Bernama) -- For the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM), it is the "Long March" in "The Great War" with China. BAM honorary-secretary Ng Chin Chai said its coaches and the National Sports Institute were constantly playing "war games" in trying to get the upperhand against the Chinese "soldiers". Central to this, he said, was detailed video analysis of the matches of the world's top two men's singles players - Malaysia's Datuk Lee Chong Wei (World Number One) and his arch nemesis Lin Dan (World Number Two) from China. “However, China are also doing the same, in fact they have much more resources than us. "And just when Chong Wei improves on his shortcomings against the top Chinese players, they (Chinese) come out with new strategies to beat Chong Wei. It is a cat and mouse game," he told Bernama here on Monday. He also said the badminton giants were also not averse to adopting "dirty tactics" like the instances of Lin Dan pulling out of key tournaments to avoid meeting Chong Wei. This year, Chong Wei only managed to win against Lin Dan once -- at the prestigious All-England championship in March. But thereafter, the Chinese succeeded in overcoming Chong Wei thrice -- at the World Championship in London in August and the Hong Kong and China opens last month. Besides Lin Dan, Chong Wei now also has to contend with Chen Long, China's rising star and likely successor to the Chinese supremo in badminton (Lin Dan). The World Number Three (Chen) upset Chong Wei, a protege of former Malaysian badminton superstar Misbun Sidek, in the Japan Open (September), Denmark Open (October) and the Super Series Final in China that concluded on Sunday. Well aware of the formidable challenges that lie ahead, Ng said BAM was formulating new strategies, as the ultimate objective of the "war" was for Chong Wei to bring back the men's singles gold from next year's London Olympics. Malaysia are banking on him to win Malaysia's first ever gold medal in the Olympics. “Though it will not be an easy task, we will not give up and do whatever it takes to help Chong Wei secure the Olympic gold," added Ng. -- BERNAMA Malaysia