STORY TO BE TOLD

Lee retains All-England title in classy fashion
By RAJES PAUL


Great win: A smiling Chong Wei holds aloft the coveted All-England men’s singles trophy. — AP

PETALING JAYA: For the first time, Malaysia’s Lee Chong Wei truly felt on top of the world.

Yesterday, Chong Wei showed who was the real boss on the court when he defeated his nemesis, Lin Dan of China, 21-17, 21-17 in a highly-charged 52-minute final to retain the All-England title.

It was a priceless win and an ecstatic Chong Wei slumped to his knees in sheer delight before rising to the thunderous applause of the fans at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham.

It was the first time that Chong Wei had beaten Lin Dan to win a major title and the record between the two archrivals now stands at 7-18.

With the win, too, Chong Wei reaffirmed his status as the world No. 1 and also hung on to the number one standing in the Super Series rankings.

And Chong Wei also became the first Malaysian to retain the All-England title since Eddy Choong pulled off the feat in 1956 and 1957.

But more importantly, the win yesterday showed that Chong Wei has the ability to come out of Lin Dan’s shadow and be a real challenger for the Olympic gold in London next year.

Lin Dan, gunning for a second consecutive Premier Super Series title after nailing the first in South Korea, got off to a smashing start but it was not too long before Chong Wei got into the groove.

Looking more confident and focused in his approach, Chong Wei piled up the pressure on the three-time world champion, often catching Lin Dan with his clever moves at the net and showing incredible defence to frustrate the Chinese.

They were tied at 8-8 and at one stage Lin Dan was affected by a bad line call and it allowed Chong Wei to pull away to 17-10.

But Lin Dan, who was ironically more interested in playing rallies than using his lethal attacking shots, fought back to 17-18. But that was as far as he went as Chong Wei snapped out of the spell to take the first game.

The second game was even tighter as both tried to outfox each other with their tight net shots and super fast counter attacks until they were tied at 17-17.

Instead of buckling under pressure like he used to before, a cool and composed Chong Wei romped home to take four points in a row to land himself a third title of the year after victories at the Super Series Masters Finals in Taiwan and Malaysia Open in January.

National coach Rashid Sidek hailed Chong Wei’s achievement as a big breakthrough.

“He played a superb game and was able to overcome the psychological barrier against Lin Dan,” he said in a telephone interview.

“He not only handle the challenge from Lin Dan well but he also executed excellent counter attacks to pressure Lin Dan. That to me is a big improvement.

“Today, Lin Dan was making most of the mistakes and he was unable to kill some of Chong Wei’s shots. Chong Wei, on the other hand, maintained a consistent pace.

“Chong Wei has always been criticised for winning the small tournaments. But this time, he defeated Lin Dan for a big one.”

Floods hit 10 villages in Sabah

KOTA KINABALU: Floods hit 10 villages in the northern Sabah district of Kota Marudu, about 120km from here, forcing more than 200 people to flee their homes.

The floods came after nearly a week of continuous rain, which also resulted in the temporary closure of the Bandau and Simpangan water treatment plants.

Among the affected villages were Tonsom, Bingkongan, Pancur, Langkon Baru and Batu 4. The others are Marudu Laut, Tambun, Popok Laut, Parong and Kuranji.

Some roads leading to Kota Marudu, including the stretches at Sungai Ulu Kukut and Menggaris, were not passable to most vehicles due to rising water.

The suspension bridges at Kampung Pinatau and Kampung Sungoi were also washed away by currents.

Kota Marudu MP Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili said six evacuation centres had been opened to shelter the affected villagers.

He said the district’s disaster management committee was doing all it could to ensure the safety of the people and to reduce loss of property and lives.

“In some parts, the situation has become critical. The committee is also seeking reinforcement of rescue personnel as well as transport and logistics assistance,” added Dr Maximus, who is Science, Tech­nology and Innovation Mini­ster.

“There is a need to channel foodstuff and essentials to affected villagers and the committee welcomes aid from the public and non-governmental organisations.

“Those who wish to contribute can do so at the district office,” he said.

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Mysterious swelling ails boy

POH: What started out as an ordinary bruise has become a major problem for a 15-year-old student, who has been bedridden for the past eight months.

Last August, Mohd Nur Hakim Hasram fell down and hurt his ribs while playing with his schoolmates at SMK Dato Hj Mohd Taib in Chemor near here.

Thinking that the swelling on his right side was nothing major, the family left it unattended after a visit to a clinic.


Harrowing illness: Ahmad Husni comforting Mohd Nur Hakim at his home in Taman Klebang Jaya, Perak yesterday. With them is Mohd Nur Hakim’s father, Hasram Mat Jamal.

His mother Nor Hamizah Ali, 43, said that three months later, the tiny bruise swelled into a growth the size of a watermelon.

“We did not think very much of it after the visit to the clinic.

“It was when it started growing out of proportion that we realised something could be wrong,” she said, adding that Mohd Nur Hakim had lost weight drastically since then.

Mohd Nur Hakim, she said, used to weigh a healthy 50kg.

“Now, he is only 30kg. He can’t walk much as the swelling hurts him. So he lies in bed all the time,” she added.

Mohd Nur Hakim is currently receiving treatment at the Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital here but doctors cannot seem to determine the cause of his ailment.

“Doctors have carried out numerous scans on him but can’t find the cause of the swelling.

“The last scan was taken in February and has been sent to Kuala Lumpur for analysis.

“We are still waiting for the outcome,” said Nor Hamizah.

Moved by Mohd Nur Hakim’s plight, Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah visited the boy at his home in Taman Klebang Jaya yesterday.

Ahmad Husni, who is the Tambun MP, said he would make the necessary arrangements to ensure Mohd Nur Hakim’s case was looked into speedily.

”I will ensure his case is given priority,” said Ahmad Husni, who gave a personal donation of RM1,000 to the boy’s family.

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Kelly Chen miscarries twin girls at five months

ALL major Chinese dailies reported Cantopop singer Kelly Chen had a miscarriage.

Sin Chew Daily reported yesterday that the 38-year-old Chen, who was five months’ pregnant, was carrying twin girls.

Her assistant said Chen had left the hospital and was now resting at home.

Asked whether the miscarriage was due to Chen’s tight schedule, the assistant said since her pregnancy was confirmed, the songbird had only attended three functions.

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