World number two Lee Chong Wei at the 2005 World Championships.
Malaysian shuttler Mohd Hafiz Hashim has been denied a chance to defend his Commonwealth gold in Melbourne after Malaysian selectors opted for two singles and three doubles players to form their Games squad.
All-England semi-finalist and world number two Lee Chong Wei will bid to retain Mr Hafiz’s men’s singles title for Malaysia alongside veteran Wong Choong Hann.
Choong Hann will also play in the doubles, partnering Choong Tan Fook, while the other doubles pair will be Chan Chong Ming and Koo Kien Keat.
Chong Ming was one-half of the gold medal winning Malaysian pair who took home gold in Manchester.
Mr Hafiz’s exclusion from the team comes as no surprise, with the 2002 Manchester Games champion failing to retain his Swiss Open title in Basel three weeks ago, and then crashing out of the first round of the All-England in Birmingham.
National women’s champion Julia Wong earned her biggest career break when she was confirmed as one of the two singles players in the team together with national number one Wong Mew Choo.
Manila South East Asian Games gold medallists Wong Pei Tty-Chin Eei Hui will bid to retain the women’s doubles gold won by Ang Li Peng-Lim Pek Siah at the 2002 Games.
The other doubles player in the team is Ooi Sock Ai.
The Badminton association of Malaysia (BAM) president, Datuk Mohamed Nadzmi Salleh, said the selection strategy was aimed at ensuring Malaysia’s strong grip on the men’s singles gold.
“If we name only one singles player, there is a possibility that we will regret it if the player has to withdraw because of injury or illness,” he said. “We also want to defend the men’s doubles title and the coaches felt that those selected will live up to expectations.”
A country can field four players for the singles, two pairs for the doubles and four pairs for the mixed doubles.
Six Commonwealth gold medals - for the men’s and women’s singles; men’s and women’s doubles; mixed doubles and the mixed team events – will all be on offer as players take to the Melbourne Exhibition Centre courts from 16 – 26 March.
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