Joo Ven a changed man?
the quarter-finals of the German Open is a big deal for Soong Joo Ven, who hopes to have cemented his position in the national squad.
On Thursday, the national men’s singles — who came through the qualifying rounds — defeated Taiwan’s Lu Chia Hung 21-16, 10-21, 21-13 in the second round to set up a date with Denmark’s Hans-Kristian Solberg Vittinghus in the last eight.
The Dane, had earlier pulled off a superb 16-21, 21-19, 21-13 win over five-time world champion, Lin Dan of China, in the second round.
Things are slowly starting to look good for the Malaysian World No 96, who was also crowned national champion last week, but is it enough to keep him in head coach Misbun Sidek’s plans?
“Only I know how difficult it was for me. News reports constantly had me feeling edgy because my name was always mentioned whenever BAM (BA of Malaysia) spoke about dropping players.
“That really affected my confidence. However, I cannot thank my coaches enough. Coach Misbun, Hendrawan and Indra Wijaya have always been there for me.
“I hope my recent run in form will convince them further about my position in the team.
“When I won the National Championships last week, I knew I still had the fire in me.
“And then going to Germany, winning two matches in the qualifying round and then stunning a seeded player (Khosit Phetpradab of Thailand) in the first round made me believe in myself more.
“Now I know I can actually go the distance. I can do this even if everyone else does not believe in me.
“I will go out and give my best from now on. My main goal is to start moving up the world ranking,” added Joo Ven.
Apart from Joo Ven, who was scheduled to play late yesterday, the other national players who also reached the last eight were men’s singles Lee Zii Jia, women’s singles Goh Jin Wei, men’s doubles Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi, Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani and mixed doubles Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai.