Kuala Lumpur: Rashid Sidek, who was involved in a spat with president of Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) Tan Sri Tengku Mahaleel Tengku Ariff following the Malaysia shuttlers’ poor performance, especially Liew Darren at the just concluded 2014 Commonwealth Games in Scotland, citing Chen Long of China is the major threat for world number one Lee Chong Wei at the Copenhagen World Championships.
Chen Long, who has been struggling with his form lately, lost to Kenichi Tago at the Thomas Cup semi-final, Hu Yun of Hong Kong in the quarter finals of the Japan Open and Jan O Jorgensen in the Indonesian Open semi-finals in June 2014.
“I am sure China will try everything to defend the world championships title. Even though Chen Long has been plagued by inconsistent form recently, their coaching team will surely make some adjustments to Chen Long’s game to make him a stronger player,” said Rashid.
Rashid also indicated in order for Lee Chong Wei to win his first world championships, he has to be on attack mode if he faces Chen Long in the final.
“Chen Long likes long rallies and he will find opportunities to hit good strokes in those long rallies. Chong Wei has to avoid playing long rallies with Chen Long, be patient, and disrupt Chen’s momentum by being offensive,” added Rashid.
And Rashid was right, after talking to several insiders, BadmintonPlanet.com has found out that after one month of training in Shenyang in preparation for the world meet, Chen Long’s physical fitness has become better; with boosted endurance and stamina that allows him to sustained high intensity matches. Chen Long also moves much faster, his awareness of the shuttlecock is better, and is extremely proactive in seeking opportunities to launch attacks.
