Well Done

The Olympic Badminton matches are being held in the Beijing University of Technology Gymnasium.

(Photos : courtesy of members of BadmintonCentral)

Isn't this shuttle holder cute?

Eventhough I was busy with work in the office, but I still couldn't stop myself following the results of the Olympic Badminton matches online.

A late morning match when Lee Chong Wei played against Ronald Susilo from Singapore who is better known as the black horse who sent Lin Dan packing during the Athens Olympics 2004.

The result : Chong Wei beat Susilo in straight sets. It is a joke for anyone who thinks Susilo would be able to repeat the history of Athens. Brilliant drop shots and net play by Chong Wei and his smashes are getting sharper and sharper, especially his sideline smashes are deadly and very accurate near the line.

In the evening, our Wong Choong Han played against the Athens gold medalist Taufik from Indonesia who is recovering from dengue fever. This pic was taken when he stepped foot on Beijing Airport, he looked haggard.

The result: Taufik was dethroned as the Olympic champion! A superb 21-19, 21-16 win by our Choong Han. Congrats to Choong Han but also felt sorry for Taufik. Taufik had just recovered from dengue fever, did not put up a quality play, it was only 60-70% of his full potential. But all praise to Choong Han as he has managed to break his mental barrier. He did not look the least bit intimidated by the Olympic champion during the encounter.

Choong Han was on fire today, possessed! He was as fit as he can, well prepared, went on the offensive right from the start but at the same time showed great improvement in his defence. This certainly will give him confidence in advancing to the next round. I was jumping in joy and hope Choong Han will grab at least a bronze medal.

Lin Dan beat Ng Wei from Hong Kong.

Bao Chun Lai beat Kevin Cordon from Guatemala. This young Kevin is something, has great potential.

Our Malaysian shuttlers have done extremely well today. More exciting days ahead.

See who was spotted among the spectators at the Stadium?

Yeap. Mr. Bill Gates and wife, enjoying a Badminton match.