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August 2014



With the Commonwealth Games coming to an end, it’s time to start looking forward at some of the major sporting events around the world happening in August. For Malaysia, our quest for another World Champion in badminton will begin on 25 August at Copenhagen, Denmark. Our main hope or rather the sole hope of winning a world title will rest on the shoulders of World No.1 - Lee Chong Wei in the men’s singles event. It’s unclear how serious his injury is that forced him to withdraw the Commonwealth Games, but one thing’s for sure - He will go out all guns blazing on another (possibly final) assault on the World Title that eluded him from his resume. The path definitely looks better with his nemesis - Lin Dan not being able to defend his title because he didn’t obtained sufficient ranking points to qualify for the tournament. Another Chinese player - Chen Long, which held an impressive head to head ranking with Chong Wei is struggling with form. So, the stage is definitely set for Lee to finally win his first title as long as he stays fit and injury free.

While for the rest of the team, it will be a mountain task for them even to win a medal. Our men doubles pairing will revert to their original pairing - Tan Wee Kiong will be playing with Hoon Thien How, while Goh V Shem will be playing with Lim Khim Wah. The biggest surprise is the reunited Koo and Tan, quite possibly for the very last time. All these arrangements are made because of their existing ranking points with their original partners that qualifies them for the World Championships. With a number of new partnerships being formed since Thomas Cup, it’s likely the very last time these players will be featured as a pairing.



Next up, it’s the last major of the year for golf. The last major, The PGA Championship happening on August 7-10 at Louisville, Kentucky. This year’s previous three major winners - Bubba Watson, Martin Kaymer and Rory McIlroy are all former winners of major events prior to their victory this year. So, we could be looking for a player who has a good season this year and has at least one major victory in the bag.

It’s always tough to pick a golf winner especially at a major event. My top three picks for this year’s last major are Justin Rose, Adam Scott and Jim Furyk. Both these three guys have been playing great this year, having multiple top ten finish this season, and all these three guys are looking for their second major in their career. But in golf, there’s always more than 10 guys capable of winning a major. A few players have been doing well lately. Most notably, Sergio Garcia who already had 4 second place finishes at major events will be a major contender for this year’s PGA Championships. Of course, you can’t ruled out the likes of Rory McIlroy making a run to become a double major winner in a single calendar year.

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