More news from our guys in Newcastle..........

NORTHUMBERLAND’S first team got their Victor Sports ICC campaign off to a flying start with a resounding 12-3 victory over visitors Lancashire Seconds at Newcastle’s Benfield Centre.
North’s thirds also secured a three-point success with a 10-5 victory over neighbours Durham.
For the seniors, Sarah Renton led from the front and soon had North on the scoreboard, closely followed by Adam Tingle and Katie Wright with straight-set wins.
County champion Richard Eaton, meanwhile, was embroiled in a long three-setter and was unlucky to just lose out 23-21 in the third.
Renton carried her form into the ladies’ doubles and easily won at top string, partnered by Katherine Gray.
Kristian Stuart and Andy McGill also started well and stretched North’s lead further to 5-1.
Eaton and Dave Shariff, making his first-team debut, recovered from a set and 9-4 down, taking the second 21-19 before edging a tight third 22-20.
Katie Wright and Alison Thompson also came back well from a set down, helped by a run of 15 consecutive points on Thompson’s serve in the deciding set.
Renton and Gray secured victory with another straight-sets win and Northumberland duly went on to secure their remaining three level doubles and thereby surpass the magic number 10 needed for a 3-0 points win.
It was not as easy as it sounds, however, with all three close three- setters, two only being won by the narrowest of margins 21-19.
The highlight of the mixed proved to be Renton completing her clean sweep with regular partner Malcolm Lightbown, although for once Northumberland lost a close one with Stuart and Gray unlucky to go down 22-20 in the third having had match points in their favour.
FULL RESULT (Northumberland players first): Richard Eaton lost to Tim Vickers 21-16, 19-21 ,21-23;. Adam Tingle beat Nick Hodgson 21-17, 24-22; Sarah Renton beat Faye Ormesher 21-3, 21-11; Katie Wright beat Nicki Burridge 22-20, 21-11.
Eaton and Dave Shariff beat Ashley Gibson and Hodgson 15-21, 21-19, 22-20; beat Vickers and Steve Taylor 12-21, 21-19, 21-19; Kristian Stuart and Andrew McGill beat Vickers and Taylor 21-12,21-11; beat Gibson and Hodgson 22-24, 23-21, 21-16.
Sarah Renton and Katherine Gray beat Nicki Burridge and Amanda Gibson 21-12, 21-11; beat Faye Ormesher and Becki Hutt 21-8, 21-19; Alison Thompson and Katie Wright beat Ormesher and Hutt 21-23, 21-14, 21-6; beat Burridge and Gibson 24-22,19-21, 21-19.
Lightbown and Renton beat Hodgson and Gibson 21-13, 21-10; McGill and Thompson lost to Gibson and Hutt 18-21,16-21;Stuart and Gray lost to Taylor and Burridge 22-24, 21-16, 20-22.
FULL THIRD TEAM RESULT (Northumberland players first): Carl Gibbons beat Taigh Connor-Watson 21-14, 21-17; Steve Gibbons beat Michael Hahn 21-11, 21-12; Victoria Brewis lost to Holly Robson 13-21, 15-21; Liz Williams lost to Laura McKie 12-21, 9-21.
Carl and Steve Gibbons beat Connor-Watson and Dan Cuthbertson 21-7, 21-9; beat Adam Pickard and Hahn 21-16, 21-13; Matt Garfitt and Adam Curry beat Pickard and Hahn 21-11, 21-7; beat Connor-Watson and Cuthbertson 21-10, 21-18.
Jenny Livingstone and Liz Williams lost to Holly Robson and Rebecca Bolden 18-21,15-21; beat Laura McKie and Abbie Scarlett 21-16, 23-21; Victoria Brewis and Kerry Myers lost to McKie and Scarlett 17-21,13-21; lost to Robson and Bolden 14-21,17-21.
Matt Garfitt and Jenny Livingstone beat Connor-Watson and Bolden 19-21, 23-21, 21-14; Alex O’Neil and Williams beat Hahn and Robson 21-7, 21-17; Curry and Brewis beat Nat Stephenson and Scarlett 21-10, 21-10;
North return to league action at Benfeld on Sunday, November 2 with another double-header, the firsts entertaining Yorkshire Thirds and the thirds hosting Cumbria Seconds at Benfield (1.00).

http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/grassroots-news/2008/10/22/badminton-not-bad-for-starters-72703-22083235/

AST Badminton Club Beach Training!

We had a beach training and picnic at the Kinabalu Golf Club, Tanjung Aru Beach recently.

We started with some jogging from the club to the end of the beach and back. Our youngest participant was 6 year old Naldo Fung and he amazed me by completing one end of the 30 minutes jog without stop!

We had shadow badminton in the sand and you can see from the pictures that the trainees put their heart into it.

It wasnt all work. We had games to cap off the training session. The trainees had a local version of dodgeball/cricket called "kayu tiga" game to keep them in th upbeat mood.

Later all the parents and student had a sumptuous meal with the hot grill and picnic basket offering lots of tasty food to satisfy their hunger after a day's hard work!

The event was a success and the trainees will be working harder in preparation for the next competition in November before we make the next outing to the Kinabalu National Park.

AST Badminton Club

Congratulations Richard Eaton, David Shariff & Adam Tingle

Congratulations to our trainees in England - Eaton, Shariff & Tingle for their respective victories in the recently concluded annual Northumberland County Restricted Tournament 2008.

Read more about it:
"Badminton: Eaton be merry after a double triumph!
Oct 8 2008 Evening Chronicle
RICHARD EATON and Sarah Renton enjoyed success at the double at the annual Northumberland County Restricted Tournament.
Both claimed singles and doubles titles at the season’s traditional curtain-raiser at Newcastle’s Benfield Centre for Sporting Excellence.
The tournament is restricted in the sense that only those qualified for Northumberland can enter – but this year saw its biggest field yet.
Defending men’s singles champion Eaton progressed to the final without the loss of a set, only Kristian Stuart getting anywhere near him by losing to 17 and 18 in the semi-final.
Adam Tingle, meanwhile, was making similar progress in the bottom half of the draw, also making the final without the loss of a set after winning his semi against Dave Shariff by a similar score.
The final was a strange affair with Eaton leading throughout the first to take it to 16 before Tingle, attacking strongly, responded so well he led 11-6 at the interval in the second.
That lead was immediately extended to 17-6 and he took the second set 21-9.
In contrast, the decider was nip and tuck to 5-5 before Eaton eased away to lead 11-7 at the turn.
Back came Tingle to level at 14-14 – but Eaton eventually ran out the winner 21-18.
The ladies singles final saw Renton, ranked No 5 in England, in imperious form.
She never gave Katie Wright a look-in, winning comfortably in straight sets.
In the ladies doubles, Renton was again in excellent form and she and Katherine Gray triumphed over previous winners Alison Thompson and Katie Wright, again in two sets.
The men’s doubles saw a repeat of last year’s final with Richard Eaton and Dave Shariff taking the first set comfortably from defending champions Kristian Stuart and Andrew McGill 21-13.
Stuart and McGill led virtually throughout the second set before being caught at 17-17, but they managed to hold on to take it to 19.
The decider was tighter, with neither pair leading by more than two points, before they were again level at 18-18.
This time it was to be Eaton and Shariff who gained the ascendancy and they went on to clinch it 21-18.
The last final saw last year’s winners Kristian Stuart and Katherine Gray up against Andrew McGill and Alison Thompson in the mixed doubles decider.
The champions looked to be romping away with it when they took the opening set 21-8.
The second proved much closer with neither pair able to establish a lead and McGill and Thompson took it 21-18.
The third proved equally as close until a run of four points on McGill’s serve saw them go 16-12 ahead, a lead they were to hold on to to emerge winners 21-15.
The next badminton at Benfield is the annual Satellite Tournament, part of the national BadmintonEngland circuit, on Satrurday and Sunday, which should see the majority of the county’s top players in action.
:: THE first league match for Northumberland’s second team on Sunday was cancelled as North East Wales have withdrawn from the ICC.
RESULTS – men’s singles: Eaton beat Adam Tingle 21-16, 9-21, 21-18. Ladies singles: Sarah Renton beat Katie Wright 21-7, 21-9. Men’s Singles plate: McGough beat Carl Jennings 21- 15, 21-23, 21-16.
’s doubles: Eaton and Dave Shariff beat Kristian Stuart and Andrew McGill 13-21, 21-19, 21- 18. Ladies doubles: Sarah Renton and Katherine Gray beat Alison Thompson and Katie Wright 21-13, 21-13. Mixed doubles: Andrew McGill and Alison Thompson beat Kristian Stuart and Katherine Gray 8- 21, 21-18, 21-15."

source: http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/grassroots-news/2008/10/08/badminton-eaton-be-merry-after-a-double-triumph-72703-21983991/

Hope you guys continue to train over there and give us an email whenever you want to come train with us again.

Steeve.

Badminton: Choong Hann badly wants to beat Chinese ace

Monday February 26, 2007

By RAJES PAUL
PETALING JAYA: In his heyday, veteran Wong Choong Hann beat all the Chinese players. All but one – Lin Dan.
And where he failed all those years ago, Choong Hann is hoping to succeed at the age of 30.
The Chinese is the top seed in the men's singles event of the German Open, which will begin on Wednesday in Mulheim, Germany.
Choong Hann left yesterday for the US$80,000 tournament, determined to set-up a match against Lin Dan. They have been drawn to meet in the quarter-finals.

Desperate: Wong Choong Hann hopes to beat Lin Dan (inset) if they meet in the German Open.“Based on the draw, I should make it into the last eight. I have not beaten Lin Dan yet. I lost to him at the last year's All-England. I have not met him since,” said Choong Hann, who faces Raul Must of Spain in the first round.
A win for the first time in six meetings against Lin Dan will certainly be a big boost for Choong Hann in his bid to make the cut for the World Championships, which will be held at Putra Stadium, from Aug 13-19.
“It has been a while since I pulled off a big win. Hopefully, I will be able to upset Lin Dan – if I get to play him. He is the only Chinese player that I have yet to beat,” he added.
Choong Hann has beaten Chen Jin once in three meetings; he has a 2-2 record against Chen Hong; has won two of his six meetings with Bao Chunlai; and has a good record of 6-2 against Chen Yu.
A good showing in the German Open and the next week's All-England, the third leg of the Super Series, will certainly help to improve his world ranking. He is currently ranked 72nd.
Lin Dan, who rebounded quickly from a second round exit in the Malaysian Open to win the Korean Open a week later last month, will likely meet another Malaysian - Mohd Roslin Hashim - in the third round.
The other men singles players in the main draw fray are Lee Tsuen Seng, Tan Chun Seang, K. Yogendran and Sairul Amar Ayob. Five others – Liew Daren, Beryno Wong, Lim Kenn, Mohd Arif Abdul Latif and Vountus Indra Mawan – will begin their campaign in the qualifying tournament on Tuesday.

Badminton: Rashid cool despite being overlooked16 Feb 2007

AS a player, Rashid Sidek always wanted to work with coaches he was comfortable with, so he fully agrees with the BA of Malaysia’s decision to appoint Wong Tat Meng as the national singles chief coach.BAM left it to the players to decide and all opted for Tat Meng, who served as outgoing chief coach Li Mao’s assistant for the last two years.Rashid and brother Misbun were the frontrunners for the post, with Rashid expected to swing it as his work with the Project 2010-2012 squad has received rave reviews. But the players decided otherwise."It does not matter who heads the national team as long as he can do his job well. The players have put their faith in Tat Meng and it is only fair that he is given the job."The main criteria before deciding on a coach is to make sure the players are comfortable with the candidate and it was Tat Meng who the shuttlers wanted," said Rashid yesterday.A bronze medallist in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, Rashid said he was more interested in the other decisions BAM had made on Wednesday."My objective now is to make sure that my players are given the chance to compete in the super series and grand prix events as they have shown improvement."BAM will be sending them to the German and Swiss Opens and I hope this will continue."The joint training sessions with the seniors will also benefit them and I’m looking forward to seeing them train with the seniors on a regular basis."Rashid has six men’s singles players — Tan Chun Seang, Lim Kenn, Liew Daren, Chong Wei Feng, Beryno Wong and Chong Li Qun — and four women’s singles players — Julia Wong, Anita Raj, Norsyahliza Baharum and Ooi Swee Wenn — under his guidance. He is assisted by Tey Siu Bock.Julia stands out among them as she finished runner-up in the four-star Phillipines Open last year, won the Sri Lankan satellite and has the distinction of beating World No 5 Yao Jie of the Netherlands, World No 8 Xu Huaiwen of Germany and World No 11 Kaori Mori of Japan since last June. She is currently ranked World No 22.Lim Kenn was the first player from the project squad to beat a national player, Lee Tsuen Seng, in the Malaysian satellite last year which forced the latter to quit the national squad, and won the Sri Lankan satellite beating Chun Seang last November.Daren also beat a national player when he outplayed Kuan Beng Hong in the National Grand Prix Finals in Kuala Terengganu last week.Chun Seang, despite not winning any title, has been more consistent and is ranked 56th, which is higher than seniors K. Yogendran (61st) and James Chua (169).Chun Seang, Lim Kenn, Daren and Beryno will be competing alongside Wong Choong Hann and Yogendran in the German Open, a grand prix event, in Mulheim on Feb 27-March 4, and will also compete in the qualifying rounds of the All-England on March 6-11. The squad’s pairs Khoo Chung Chiat-Razif Latif and Chan Peng Soon-Chang Hun Pin and women’s pair Haw Chiou Hwee-Lim Yin Loo will also compete in both tournaments.Julia will be competing in the All-England and Swiss Open on March 13-18 while Anita will play in the German Open and the All-England.

Time for the BAM to discard unproductive seniors

By RAJES PAUL
KUALA TERENGGANU: A change of guard is set to take place in the men’s singles department of the national team following insipid performances by several senior shuttlers in the Proton National Grand Prix Finals, which ended here on Sunday.
The end is nigh for James Chua, K. Yogendran and Yeoh Kay Bin and players from the Project 2010-12 squad are set to make their breakthrough into the national team.
James’ tame 24-minute defeat by Lee Chong Wei in the semi-finals showed that he is no longer up to the mark while Yogendran hardly showed any substance in his defeat by Mohd Hafiz Hashim.
A hardworking Kay Bin, who has been in the national team for almost a decade, was down with fever and lost to James in the semi-finals. But he also does not have any good results to stake a claim for a longer stay in the national team.

Waiting in the wings: Tan Chun Seang and Lim Kenn (below, right) are some of the Project 2010-12 players on the verge of joining the national senior team.In fact, even Kuan Beng Hong’s position in the national team hangs in the balance. He was beaten by back-up shuttler Liew Daren and immediately withdrew from the Finals because of fever.
It is time for the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) to rope in the back-up players. By concentrating on them, at least, there is some hope for the future. If at all the BAM want to retain the seniors, they could be hired as sparring partners.
The Project squad’s chief coach, Rashid Sidek, said that some of his players were on the verge of joining the national team.
Among them are Tan Chun Seang, Lim Kenn, Liew Daren, Choong Wei Feng, Beryno Wong, Chong Li Qun, Teo Kok Seng and Mohd Hafiz Shaharudin.
“I have decided to send some of the players to Misbun (Sidek). Currently, he (Misbun ) has only one player (Mohd Hafiz Hashim) under his charge,” said Rashid.
“It will be good for these back-up players to be groomed by Misbun. After all, Misbun prefers to coach youngsters. It is time to push these back-up players. Having them in the national team will help raise their standards as they will get more opportunities to compete.”
While changes are expected to take place, Malaysia’s hopes for honours in international tournaments this year will still rest on the shoulders of five-time national champion Lee Chong Wei, Hafiz and Wong Choong Hann.
Hafiz showed some of his good attacking shots and aggression even though he lost to Chong Wei in the final. And it augurs well for Hafiz, who is determined to lift his game to a higher level this year.

Rashid unhappy with ding-dong display

KUALA TERENGGANU: There was one upset pulled of by the men's back-up squad players in the Proton National Grand Prix Finals but for coach Rashid Sidek, the outing was still a big disappointment.
On Thursday, 20-year-old Liew Daren turned the tables on Kuan Beng Hong, who eventually withdrew from the tournament due to fever, in a group match.
But a day after the big win, Liew went down to Bukit Jalil Sports School's (BJSS) Lim Fang Yang.
Besides Liew Daren, the others – Chong Wei Feng, Lim Kenn and Chong Li Qun – were also eliminated from the tournament.
Their performances were inconsistent.
Rashid said he was disappointed with the lack of mental strength among the youngsters.
“I was not impressed with any one of them. After winning against Beng Hong, Daren lacked confidence and lost to Fang Yang. The others played well but put undue pressure on themselves,” said Rashid.
“Their main weakness is their lack of the mental strength. They show great commitment in training but I do not see the same fire in them during competition. Now, I have to keep on motivating them to be brave on the court,” he said.
Rashid said the men's singles players would now be heading for the German Open and Bahrain Satellite.
Those making the trip to Germany are Daren, Lim Kenn, Tan Chun Seang and Beryno Wong while Wei Feng and Li Qun will head to Bahrain.

Badminton: Rashid wants joint training

RASHID Sidek, strongly tipped to take over as the men’s singles coach from Li Mao whose contract is expired, has requested that the national senior squad and the 2010-2012 Project players train together if the BA of Malaysia (BAM) wants results to improve.Rashid, who currently heads the 2010-2012 Project whose players train at Juara Stadium in Bukit Kiara, said joint training is the only way he can assume full responsbility as the singles coach. He says he can concentrate on a few shuttlers from the Project squad and also focus on the seniors, if they train together.Players like Lim Kenn, Tan Chun Seang and Liew Darren train under Rashid, and they will likely to be joined by Lee Chong Wei, Wong Choong Hann and Kuan Beng Hong when BAM hand (singles) coaching duties to the former Olympic bronze medallist. Wong Tat Meng is the caretaker coach for the seniors but Rashid’s vast international experience will be invaluable in helping the national shuttlers who are preparing for August’s World Championships in Kuala Lumpur, and the Beijing Olympics next year."I have no objections in assuming the responsibilities of a singles coach but the current working order has to change. I cannot abandon the 2010-2012 Project as it will be infair to my players," said Rashid."However, joint-training will benefit everyone. The back-up players will give their 100 percent as they can use this opportunity to make a strong impact on the international scene, while the seniors will also receive quality sparring sessions from playing against their younger compatriots."We will have a win-win situation. I do not have to take charge of all the 13 players (in joint-training) as Tat Meng can focus on a few players, while Misbun (Sidek) can also take charge of some as presently he only has Hafiz Hashim under him."If the current situation persists, it will be very difficult as my players train in Bukit Kiara while the national team do so at Bukit Jalil." There are seven players — Chong Wei, Choong Hann, Hafiz, Beng Hong, Yeoh Kay Bin, K. Yogendran and James Chua — in the national senior singles, while the Project squad has Lim Kenn, Chun Seang, Liew Darren, Chong Wei Feng, Chong Li Qun and Beryno Wong.Rashid also coaches women’s singles players Julia Wong, Anita Raj and Norsyahliza Baharum with Tey Siu Bock as his assistant.