Wang sets scene for HK Open raid
World number four Wang Chen gave next week's Hong Kong Open a timely boost by returning from Jakarta crowned as the SAR's first-ever Asian champion. Wang defeated surprise finalist Silvi Antarini of Indonesia. 'It's the best result Hong Kong have ever had. I'm very proud,' said the 27-year-old. 'It's the Asian Championships and it's very important.'
Wang comfortably defeated the 19-year-old 11-6, 11-5 to lift the women's singles title and complete Hong Kong's most successful Asian Championships. 'It's good for her and it's good for Hong Kong. I hope this success can let her be more confident in the future and especially in the Hong Kong Open,' said head coach Chan Chi-choi, whose team also brought home four bronze medals from Indonesia.
Agu Hariyanto and Ng Wei both claimed medals after reaching the semi-finals of the men's singles, which was won by Indonesia's Sony Dwi Kuncoro. Liu Kwok-wa and Alberto Njoto Susanto did likewise in the men's doubles, with Liu winning a second alongside Louisa Koon Wai-chee in the mixed.
'The four bronze medals were a big surprise, especially in the men's singles. Even though the best Chinese weren't there, Indonesia still had a full team and South Korea were at 95 per cent of their full strength,' said Chan.
The successes in Jakarta, the latest in a string of best-ever performances by the Hong Kong team over the past two years, sets up perfectly next week's Hong Kong Open which has been transformed from a tournament backwater into a US$250,000 event that rivals the China Open in importance, thanks to the backing of the Relaunch Hong Kong project.
'It is history for Hong Kong - our first six-star event,' said Tong Wai-lun, vice-president of the Hong Kong Badminton Association. 'A lot of teams have changed their schedules for this.
'We have the best players in the world coming - there's only the Hong Kong Open and China Open that are designated as six-star competitions during the Olympic qualifying period.'
The draw, held somewhat bizarrely in a classroom of the Confucian Tai Shing Primary School in Wong Tai Sin, confirmed the quality of the field that will assemble at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium.
All the reigning world champions, including China's Xia Xuanze and Zhang Ning, and all the world number one-ranked players will be present, including mainlanders Chen Hong and Gong Ruina and the South Korean mixed doubles pair of Kim Dong-moon and Ra Kyung-min, who will be bidding to win a remarkable ninth consecutive tournament.
However, the draw hasn't been that kind to Wang Chen, who finds herself in the same half as Gong, Xie Xingfang and Denmark's Camilla Martin, who have all caused her problems during the second half of the year - particularly Martin, who has beaten her three times in the past two months and is likely to be her third-round opponent.
