Singapore: With badminton players once again shouldering Southeast Asia's hopes for gold medals at the Asian Games, Lee Chong Wei knows he needs to quickly put a disappointing loss at the World Championships behind him to stand any chance against strong Chinese and South Korean squads.
The Malaysian shuttler, No. 1 in the world rankings, said he would have to improve significantly on his performance in Copenhagen in August, where he lost to Chen Long of China. Ominously for Southeast Asia, China and South Korea dominated the standings at the worlds, with seven and four medals respectively.
"The Chinese, Korean and Indonesian shuttlers will be out in full force,” Lee said. “So I will have to fortify my mental strength.”
Indonesia, a former badminton powerhouse that has struggled to produce champions in recent years, is sending 18 players, and is hoping for gold in the mixed doubles
“It doesn't mean that we are pessimistic about the others, but the fact is that this is our best chance,” team manager Lius Pongoh said.
Pongoh said the country had set a target of nine golds across all sports, more than twice the tally it picked up at the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China. Other medals are expected in weightlifting, karate and archery.
Outside badminton, Malaysia is aiming for gold in the female squash competition from world No. 1 Nicol David. The 31-year-old David, arguably the best female player of the modern era, won the Hong Kong Open for the ninth-consecutive time last month and also picked up gold at the Commonwealth Games.
David, who has three Asian Games singles titles to her name, is the favorite in the singles, but she also fancied the chances of the women's squad to retain the team title it won at Guangzhou.
