Rashid Sidek satisfied with Chong Wei but worried over Lydia Cheah’s performance – Badminton news
Malaysia’s Singles coach, Rashid Sidek, is satisfied with the performance of the top seed Lee Chong Wei in Men’s Singles, but worried over the quivering play of Lydia Cheah in the Women’s Singles against Indonesian shuttlers in the Sudirman Cup, at Qingdao,
China, on May 25.
Chong Wei, who is the ruling World Number One in the Men’s Singles category, showed no mercy to the young Indonesian shuttler, Dionysius Hayom Rumbaka, in a straight-game fight. The Malaysian proved that he has achieved the highest level of the game and
is strong in all aspects of badminton.
In the opening set, Rumbaka tried to match the speed and accuracy of his opponent, but he failed to create gaps in the challenger’s court as Chong Wei was very quick in all corners of the court. The World Number One clinched the opening set with a one-sided
margin of 21-8.
In the second game, the Indonesian tried to play better but again it was Chong Wei who took a comfortable lead in the start and maintained it throughout the match, to finish the second game by a difference of 21-18.
In the Women’s Singles match, Lydia Cheah could not cope up with the speed and accuracy of her Indonesian opponent, Adriyanti Firdasari. Lydia remained miles behind her rival in the opening set and lost it without putting up a good fight with a huge margin
of 8-21.
In the following set, she played better in the first-half, but again the Indonesian started to control the rallies. Lydia went down in the second set with a difference of 12-21.
After the match, Rashid said, “Chong Wei did what was expected of him while Lydia was quite nervous today. She is still not used to playing in team events.”
He further added, “I fielded her because Tee Jing Yi played in the opening tie (against Russia). Now I have a clearer picture on who I can depend on in the quarter-finals.”
Malaysia will be up against Korea in the quarter-final match. It will be an important match for the Malaysian squad, as their team has never passed the semi-final stage in the history of this mixed team championship.
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