First hurdle over

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SLOW START: Chong Wei prepares for Indonesia’s Santoso

Tee Jing Yi beat Italian Agnese Allegrini 21-17, 21-14 in their Group B match.

Lee Chong Wei goes high for a smash against Finland’s Ville Lang in London on Monday. AP pic

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IT was the impressive start that Lee Chong Wei, and Malaysia for that matter, had hoped for but now that some of the rust caused by 10 weeks of inaction has been rid off, the nation's greatest gold medal hope can focus on the business end of the London Olympics.

Indonesia's Simon Santoso is up next today and despite the wobble Chong Wei suffered against Ville Lang of Finland -- the Malaysian won their group match 21-8, 14-21, 21-11 late on Monday -- he should advance to the quarter-finals.

Simon, the recent Indonesia Open winner, has beaten Chong Wei only once in eight meetings and this was a point which the Malaysian stressed on Monday.

"Simon is a good player and winning the Indonesia Open is proof of that. However, I have beaten him seven times -- the most recent in the Super Series Finals in December -- and that counts for something," said Chong Wei,

The World No 2, however, said he would take the match seriously.

"I am making a competitive comeback after 10 weeks and this was a major reason why I struggled against Lang. He knew I had not played competitively in a while and took an aggressive approach. I am sure Simon will adopt a similar strategy."

Even then, the only reason why Lang was able to stretch the match to three sets was because of Chong Wei's numerous errors in the second game, something which he said he had taken note of.

"I was too eager to win in straight games and started making mistakes. I won't repeat that against Simon," said Chong Wei.

What was good to see was Chong Wei's mobility and his ability to execute jumping smashes, which were indications that the ankle injury suffered during the Thomas Cup Finals in May was not hampering him too much.

"The pain is still there and I consumed painkillers before the match but I have told myself that I must not think about the injury. I am at the Olympics and I must give it my best shot."

Asked by a foreign journalist whether the weight of expectations from Malaysia was weighing him down, Chong Wei said: "The pressure is there but it is about how I cope with it. I came into the Olympics after an injury and what is important now is my mental strength.

"Pressure will always be there and it is how I cope with. I want to win just as badly but the best for me at this stage is to take it one match at a time and produce my best."

Women's singles Tee Jing Yi was the other Malaysian who played late on Monday and she achieved her target of winning at least one match when she beat Italian Agnese Allegrini 21-17, 21-14 in their Group B match.

The Malaysian's Olympic hopes, however, were dependent on how South Korean Bae Yeon Ju, fared against Agnese in the final group match late yesterday,

Also in action late yesterday were men's doubles Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong, who faced South Korean bogeymen Chung Jae Sung-Lee Yong Dae with the tag of Group D winners at stake.

If the Malaysians win, their quarter-finals opponents will be Indonesia's Mohammad Ahsan-Bona Septano but if they lose, they will play Thailand's Bodin Isara-Maneepong Jongjit.

First hurdle over

SLOW START: Chong Wei prepares for Indonesia’s Santoso

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