Family bonding session

Allan Soyza (right)  during the World Squash Day/ Edward Chan

Newsflash - well not really a news flash per say, but I just learned a few hours ago that as a result of the SRAM elite coach Peter Genever deciding not to go to Pakistan with the team for the Asian Individual Championships, SRAM director of coaching Allan Soyza - that's him on the right - has been roped in as team manager.

Now it's nothing unusual to have Allan as the team manager...oddly enough, but it's interesting enough that Penang state coach Aaron Soyza will also be going to Islamabad.

Yes the younger Soyza brother, world No.7 Low Wee Wern's coach.
Now if my sources aren't wrong, both Allan and Aaron don't really see eye to eye. Brothers they may be, but they are not going to be sharing a room in Pakistan anytime soon.
In fact, forget about the political instability of Pakistan and the safety concerns which 'forced' PG to pull out for a moment. What we have here, both Allan and Aaron together on the same flight is dangerous enough. There is no need for terrorists at all!

Aaron (right) with Wee Wern. An old pic from The Star

But with that being said, it's great that Aaron is going though...however dangerous Pakistan may be. His presence may be more meaningful and useful compared to PG.

This gives Wern, who is the top seed, an added boost to win her first Asian title in the absence of world No.1 Nicol David.

Still, the bottom-line is still to be careful no matter what. And hopefully the Asian Squash Federation (ASF) will have a complete change of heart at this eleventh hour and bring the Asians somewhere safer. Wishful thinking.

Which brother to support? Zhengguan ain't picking sides, but youth usually has it advantages. 

ps: this post is completely meant for humour and hopefully no parties get offended.

Great Guys rocking the ABC

South Korea's Ko Sung-hyun-Lee Yong-dae are simply great. They have all the weapons and firepower to become an unstoppable force in men's doubles for the next few years.
of course they are already on the way there, and being ranked third in the world, after getting together for less than a year is a testament of their potential.
They just need to work on their consistency and avoid losing to unfancied opponents, which we have witnessed a few times already this year.

These guys are great. Yong-dae (left) and Sung-hyun during the ABC

That they've beating our best young propect - Goh V Shem-Lim Khim Wah, four times already this year also shows how far ahead the Koreans already are.
The latest win came in the semi-finals of the Asian Badminton Championship (ABC), in which our boys simply had no answer.

Khim Wah (left) and Shem are great too, but they need more time

But the top Malaysian in the ABC was without doubt that scrawny looking Chong Wei Feng.

After living in Lee Chong Wei's shadows for so many years, the 25-year-old is finally coming good and probably delivered one of his best performance against China's world No.2 Chen Long.

He was aggressive and confident (a little too aggressive at times) and had Chen Long scurrying across the court many times just at the flick of his racquet.

Wei Feng flying high

It's just unfortunate that Chen Long is just too damn physically powerful and gobbles up everything Wei Feng threw at him before countering with precision and...a bit of luck.
Still it was an excellent showing from the Kedahan and from here onwards, upwards is the only way to go.

Overall, although we didn't win anything at the ABC, it was a good experience for several players who are finally showing their true potential. Future looks great indeed.

Zhengguan thinks that as long as our shuttlers can overcome that consistency issue, they are easily world beaters in their own righs.

'It's no big deal really!'

So I was doing a little trolling on articles online when I chanced upon an article on Sports 247 regarding national elite coach (squash) Peter Genever.

Peter Genever/PG

For newcomers to squash, PG is basically the head coach in the Squash Racquets Association of Malaysia (SRAM) set-up.
And now it seems that our head coach, has opted out from the assignment to Islamabad, Pakistan, for the Asian Individual Championships from May 1-5, citing safety concerns.
The article however also highlighted the fact that world No.1 Nicol David is not going too, while six other players are still going to brave the dangers and instability in Pakistan and participate in that tournament.
Although it was funny that PG said that him being a Caucasian puts his life in danger. Hmm.
Then again it doesn't really matter if PG stays home..because...well...I'm not sure if he has any players to coach even if he goes.

Honestly though, and this is really my own opinion, let's not make it too much of an issue. If PG does not want to go, I believe that's fair. No offence to the writer by the way.
I also believe that there is no need to question why SRAM is still sanctioning the go-ahead for the six players - Ong Beng Hee, Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan, Mohd Asyraf Azan, Low Wee Wern, Delia Arnold and Zulhijjah Azan, in competing in Pakistan.
It's not very fair for SRAM too, being put in such a spotlight and being viewed as forcing players to compete. The association gave the players a choice, they made it and that's that.
If anything, the question should be directed at the Asian Squash Federation (ASF) as to why Pakistan is still allowed to host the tournament. But that's another issue altogether.

If the tournament was hosted anywhere other than Pakistan, I believe even Nicol will take time off to compete too...even though she has already won it a record eight times.
As I've mentioned in my article in The Star earlier this month, Nicol doesn't really need to play and should be respected for her decision.
Now that she's not going, the other girls in the national set-up might feel they finally have a possible chance at winning a title Nicol has dominated for the past decade. So they decide to go. Why is that an issue?
Besides, it'll be great for players like Zulhijjah, to get a bit more experience competing in tournaments. Do we really want to take away that kind of rare opportunity away from her?

Zulhijjah (right) during the KL Open last month

There's always the possibility that SRAM might have given the players some pressure, but that's something we will never know. At the end of the day, what matters is the players made their decision so we have to respect it. And give them the best possible protection they can get in Pakistan. As Wern said, Beng Hee is going to be her human shield.

Furthermore, with the exception of India, all the other Asian countries, including the likes of China, are participating in the tournament!
And it's so true that if Malaysia were to pull out from the Asians, it may affect the squash bid, given how we're considered a top squash nation.
What we need right now is people to stand united for squash and pray for only the best to happen instead of harping on every small mistakes.

With all that is being said, Zhengguan definitely hopes that the Malaysian team arrive safely, play safely and return home all in one piece! 

Off to the Prem

Cardiff City Stadium - 2012

Cardiff City is off to the Premier League and what a success story it has been.
I had the pleasure to visit Cardiff and their stadium once in 2012, just after they cruelly lost the Carling Cup final to Liverpool.
It was a truly magnificent football club to be honest.
Mind you, I'm a die-hard Chelsea fan but I was so impressed with the club's set-up and the owners' commitment that I returned from my trip and wrote this piece.
Now, in a week's time, I suppose I'm heading back to Cardiff (round two...hooray!!) to watch their last home match against Bolton Wanderers.
It'll be interesting to see how the club has changed in a year and how excited the fans are at finally lining up alongside the big-boys of Chelsea, Man Utd, Arsenal, Man City etc.
I'm also rather interested, in getting their new jersey - the red one with the Dragon.

Since I'm born in the year of the Dragon, I supposed its rather auspicious for me too.
Anyway, I can't wait to fly off (damn long flights) and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that everything goes smooth.

Zhengguan hopes that this so-called Malaysian jinx stay away from Cardiff.

The Xodus 7 Continent Challenge - KL Leg

I have to admit. I don't play much squash. I gave it a try when I was 10 but gave up after 15 minutes and switched to badminton instead.

Still, that did not deterred my interest in watching squash and I can not understand how a majority of sports fans out there say it's boring to watch.

So you can imagine my excitement when I learned that Peter Nicol - 2 time British Open champ, World Open winner in 1999 and also twice Commonwealth Games singles gold medalist - was making the trip to KL along with another retired pro - Tim Garner.

Managed to get a pic with Peter

Reason - to promote squash and to show support for the Olympic 2020 bid #BackTheBid2020 #vote4squash.

It was a part of the The Xodus 7 Continent Challenge in which both Peter and Tim would play 7 matches in 7 days on continents.

Anyway, Peter won (hooray!!) in five sets to level the tie at 2-2 by the time they took off.

For more updates on the event you can always read the event blog here. I believe Tim updates it regularly.

Also it was a great moment when I finally cornered Peter and confessed my fanboy-ism for him *glows*

Plus, I also got to confess how star-struck I was when I had the opportunity to call him up a couple of weeks back just for an interview. Read that story here.

For a wrap, Peter and Tim really entertained the small but awesome crowd. Shame that I was the only journalist there. Guess not everyone's into squash after-all. Unless Nicol David plays.

For more reads regarding the Xodus 7 Continent Challenge, check out my report on it at The Star.

Do tune in for the best (if possible) coverage on squash in Malaysia.

Zhengguan hopes to see more sports writers in Malaysia showing their support for squash and hopefully it gets into the Olympics 2020.