MEW CHOO WARNS ZHOU MI SHE WON'T BE HER 'PLAY THING'

KUALA LUMPUR: Hong Kong’s feared women’s singles shuttler Zhou Mi loves to toy with her opponents on court.

But Malaysia’s Wong Mew Choo does not plan to become one of Zhou Mi’s ‘play things’ in the World Championships, which will begin in Hyderabad, India, from Aug 10-16.

Barring any major upsets or injuries, Mew Choo is expected take on the world No. 1 and top seed Zhou Mi in the women’s singles third round of the world meet.

Mew Choo will face American Shannon Pohl in the opening round and probably Japan’s Ai Goto in the second round.

Having lost twice to Zhou Mi, the 26-year-old Mew Choo admits that it would be a tall order for any player coming up against China’s former top national star.

“Her skills are amazing. She likes to toy with her opponents and break their rhythm of play,” said Mew Choo.

“In one of the tournaments, she took a 14-0 lead against me. It almost broke my resolve.

“Many do not like to play against her. She can retrieve any kinds of shots. She may be much older than most of the players but she certainly can make life difficult for us.”

Mew Choo’s only hope is to go all out against Zhou Mi if their paths cross in India.

“I will not take my early round matches easy. I may face Ai Goto in the second round. I have not played against her but the Japanese are runners and I will be wary of her,” she said.

“It will be great if I can set up a meeting with Zhou Mi. The odds are against me but it does not matter whether I win or lose … the most important thing is to fight all out.”

The others in the same draw with the 30-year-old Zhou Mi and Mew Choo are China’s Xie Xingfang and Wang Yihan.

In the lower half of the draw with Wang Lin of China is compatriot Lu Lan, Hong Kong’s Wang Chen and Yip Pui Yin, Denmark’s Tine Rasmussen and India’s Saina Nehwal. The participation of Indonesian Open champion Saina, however, is in doubt after the former contracted chicken pox last week.

Mew Choo said she hoped that her injuries would not derail her hopes of achieving another memorable outing in the world meet.

At the world meet in Malaysia in 2007, Mew Choo stunned Xingfang to reach the quarter-finals. In the same year, she went on to beat several of China’s top guns to win the China Open.

“I was quite confident with my game at one point and now I am re-building myself to become a better player.

“I am glad that my injuries (both knees) are under control,” she said.

MEW CHOO WARNS ZHOU MI SHE WON'T BE HER 'PLAY THING'

MARLEVE JADI KOORDINATOR TUNGGAL PUTRA

JAKARTA – Nomor tunggal putra Indonesia akan semakin mantap menjelang kejuaraan dunia bulu tangkis di Hyderabad, India, 10-16 Agustus mendatang. Apalagi, terdapat dua pelatih sekaligus yang akan menangani Sony Dwi Kuncoro dkk.

Selain Davis Efraim yang ditunjuk menggantikan sosok Hendrawan, PB PBSI juga mengharapkan peran Marleve Mainaky untuk bekerjasama dengan Davis menukangi Sony dkk. Otoritas bulu tangkis Tanah Air itu optimistis keduanya akan memberikan dampak positif bagi kekuatan sektor tunggal putra Indonesia.

Menurut Marleve, dirinya dipercaya PBSI untuk menjadi koordinator. Dia hanya mengawasi jalannya pelatihan Sony dkk sekaligus dapat memberikan masukan jika ada hal yang perlu diperbaiki.

Namun, pelatih yang juga menangani tunggal putri ini tak bisa terlalu jauh mencampuri program Davis yang telah berjalan. “Saya hanya mengawasi saja. Jika ada yang kurang, kami berdiskusi memperbaiki kekurangan tersebut,” kata Marleve, Senin (3/8/2009).

Dia pun tak melihat ada masalah serius semenjak dipercaya PBSI, Kamis (30/7/2009). Sebab, dua pemain tunggal putra yang akan mewakili Indonesia, yakni Sony dan Simon Santoso, dinilainya sudah kompetitif untuk menjalani persaingan di turnamen prestisius tersebut.

“Saya pastinya lebih menekankan faktor mental, tapi hal itu sepertinya tak perlu dilakukan kepada mereka. Sebab, mereka merupakan pemain yang telah teruji untuk bersaing di turnamen seperti itu,” ungkapnya.

Marleve hanya memberikan tambahan motivasi agar keduanya lebih fight menjalani laga di setiap pertandingannya. Mereka membutuhkan dukungan itu karena keduanya akan menghadapi tekanan dari pemain top dunia yang akan meramaikan turnamen tersebut.

Soal persiapan tunggal putri, pelatih ramah itu sudah tak mengalami masalah meski masih intensif menjalani pelatihan fisik dan teknik. Dia berharap kedua anak asuhnya, Maria Kristin Yulianti dan Adrianti Firdasari lebih tune in jelang keberangkatan ke India, Jumat (7/8/2009).

“Saya memang membutuhkan mereka tampil lebih prima, terutama konsentrasi keduanya meski di laga pembuka belum bertemu lawan unggulan. Yang penting, mereka kali ini lebih siap untuk memberikan hasil terbaik,” cetus Marleve.

Sementara Kasubbid Pelatnas Cipayung Christian Hadinata masih menyimpan tanda tanya perihal peran Marleve di tunggal putra. Dia justru memberi sinyal menunggu komando dari Kabid Pembinaan dan Prestasi (Binpres) PBSI mengenai hal tersebut. “Hal ini masih wacana dan perlu dibicarakan lebih mendalam kepada Binpres,” kata Christian.

(Edi Yulianto/Koran SI/zwr)