our medal hope ~~~ Badminton !

A SLICE OF HISTORY
Singapore's Shuttlers In Men's Singles & Men's Doubles Finals
By Chua Chong Jin


Today (Dec 14) could be a very significant day for Singapore badminton. Sure, Ronald Susilo's performance at the 2004 Athens Olympics was a high point, given the magnitude of the occasion.


But Kendrick Lee (picture) making the men's singles finals of the SEA Games here in Korat is no small feat. Not when his opponent in the final is an Olympic champion, no less. A Shot At WinningThere is no mystery, only the fact that, unlike in sports such as athletics and gymnastics where Southeast Asia lags way behind the world's best, this region is home to some of the world's finest shuttlers. So a SEA Games gold medal in badminton is quite a treasure, really. And now Kendrick has a shot at winning it. Stunning WinHe earned this right following his stunning win over Thai favourite Boonsak Ponsana. Showing a new level of maturity which has taken him places in the global arena this year, he silenced a partisan crowd at the Vongchavalitkul University Indoor Stadium to win 21-15, 22-20.


Up next for him is the immensely talented but mercurial Taufik Hidayat. The Olympic gold medallist will start off as the overwhelming favourite, no doubt. For Kendrick, what matters is that he now knows he has what it takes to challenge some of the world's best. He might have been all over the world for tournaments but today's match in Korat is, without a doubt, the biggest in his career as he searches for that all-important breakthough. For Singaporeans, it's big deal as it has been 24 years since our country had a male representative in a SEA Games badminton final.


Slice Of HistoryJoining Kendrick in the quest for a slice of sporting history are the men's doubles pair of Hendra Wijaya and Hendri Saputra. They became the first Singaporean pair to reach a SEA Games men's doubles finals by beating Indonesia's world No 13 pair Hendra Gunawan and Joko Riyadi 21-9, 21-19. Ranked world No 27, the Singapore pair will next face the world No 2 pair Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan of Indonesia.





reported by : small eye Eileen (-v-)...