First to bed, first to rise for Chong Wei
May 7th, 2008 | by Indonesia First |KUALA LUMPUR: For this one week, Lee Chong Wei has to do things first. He arrives at the training hall early, sleeps early and is even the first among the lot to have his meals.
And national singles coach Misbun Sidek hopes that these routines will help Chong Wei to get used to his position as the player to lead the team out for ties in the Thomas Cup Finals, which begin on Sunday in Jakarta.
It is the second time in the series that Chong Wei will play at first singles for Malaysia.
In the last Finals in Japan in 2006, Chong Wei found the pressure too hot to handle in the semi-final tie against Denmark. He lost to Peter Gade-Christensen and Malaysia went on to bow out 2-3.
“It is not easy to play as the first singles. The pressure and expectation can be overwhelming. All kinds of thoughts play in one’s mind. I have been in this situation before,” said Misbun, who featured as a player for Malaysia between 1979 and 1988.
“I have played as the first, second and third singles player. The toughest for me is playing at the first. I did not like the feeling of disappointing my team-mates.
“I know Chong Wei can get distracted sometimes. But I hope he will stay focused as the first singles player. By practising to be the first in everything, he will learn not to let anything distract him easily.”
Chong Wei’s counterparts as the first rank player in teams of the other top contenders are Park Sung-hwan (South Korea), Sony Dwi Kuncoro (Indonesia), Kenneth Jonassen (Denmark) and Lin Dan (China).
“Their standards are about the same with Lin Dan having a slight edge.
“But if Chong Wei is distracted, he gives his opponents the room to take him on easily,” said Misbun.
Besides Chong Wei, the other men’s singles in the Malaysian team are Wong Choong Hann, Mohd Hafiz Hashim and Mohd Arif Abdul Latif.
thestar.com.my
