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Four seasoned campaigners to lead Malaysia in Chong Wei’s absence
If there’s any major badminton tournament that Malaysia can brag a success or two in recent years, it’s probably the All-England.
Thanks to men’s singles ace Lee Chong Wei, the national team were able to return with four titles – 2010, 2011, 2014 and 2017.
But there will be no Chong Wei this time, so the nation will have to count on someone else to bring the title home when the world’s oldest tournament gets under way at the Arena Birmingham today.
The 36-year-old, who had not played competitive badminton since he was diagnosed with nose cancer in July last year, has initially planned to make his comeback at the All-England.
But he had since changed his plans to the Malaysian Open next month to give him more time to get back into shape.
In Chong Wei’s absence, all eyes will again be on the men’s doubles and mixed doubles shuttlers with Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong and Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying seen as the best bets.
After all, these four seasoned campaigners have featured in the tournament more times than any of their 13 other compatriots in the fray this week.
They did not only participate, they also came close to winning them.
Peng Soon-Liu Ying nearly created history as the first Malaysian mixed doubles winners when they finished runners-up to China’s Lu Kai-Huang Yaqiong in 2017.
V Shem-Wee Kiong made it to the last four in 2016 before their hopes of becoming the first men’s doubles champions since Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong in 2007 were shattered by Japan’s Hiroyuki Endo-Kenichi Hayakawa.
The two pairs will enter their first major competition of the year with renewed optimism after producing a series of decent results.
In January, V Shem-Wee Kiong and Peng Soon-Liu Ying both won the season-opening Thailand Masters and made it to the semi-finals at Malaysian Masters a week later.
Peng Soon-Liu Ying went one step better by registering another last four outing at the Indonesian Masters.
If anything, a triumph at the AllEngland will further boost their confidence as they build towards Olympic glory at Tokyo 2020.
As for the likes of Ong Yew SinTeo Ee Yi, Shevon Lai-Goh Soon Huat and Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing, it’s time for them to showcase the strength of the current national team following the departure of Peng Soon and company.
Rising stars such as men’s doubles pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik and mixed doubles pair Chen Tang Jie-Peck Yen Wei will also be eager to impress after working to their way up to be part of the elites.
It will be a surreal experience for them as 12 months ago they probably didn’t think they would be competing in the All-England.
In the women’s singles, twotime world junior champion Goh Jin Wei will continue to build on the credentials she built this year.
She has reached the semi-finals twice at the Malaysian Masters and German Open last week beating the likes of world top 10 opponents such as Akane Yamaguchi, He Bingjiao and Zhang Beiwen.