Shuttler Liu Ying vows to make amends at London Games

Goh Liu Ying is probably Malaysia’s most successful woman shuttler right now but, yesterday, disappointment was written all over her face after returning home without any titles to show from the back-to-back Indonesia and Singapore Opens.
The 21-year-old Liu Ying had allowed inconsistency to creep back into her game and it was something she is not proud of just before the London Olympics from July 27-Aug 12.
Liu Ying went through a roller coaster ride with her mixed doubles partner Chan Peng Soon – crashing out in the second round in Jakarta and losing in the semi-finals in Singapore. The duo had a good chance to appear in their first Super Series final in Singapore but failed to rise to the occasion against the beatable Cheng Hung-ling-Cheng Wen-hsing of Taiwan.
With just few weeks to shape up before the Olympics, Liu Ying has vowed to get cracking.
“Peng Soon and I wanted so badly to do well in the Singapore Open, which is our last tournament before the Olympics but our performances were bad,” admitted Liu Ying. “I made a lot mistakes. At this stage, we should be more patient and solid in our game. It was the same old problem as we were too eager to shut out our opponents.
“We need to improve on our consistency. Our condition is also not up to the mark but we have a few more weeks to work on this. It’s important to get the tournament feeling right before the Games,” she said.
Two years ago, Liu Ying and Peng Soon were not even close to qualification but now, they have made the cut for their first Olympics as the world’s No. 8 ranked pair.
Mixed doubles used to be considered the weakest event in Malaysian badminton because the women players did not measure up but Liu Ying has changed that perception.
Over the past two years, she has shown maturity and quality in her game and is considered one of the most outstanding players at the front court in a mixed doubles pairing.
She has won three titles with Peng Soon – the 2010 Asian Badminton Championships, Bitburger German Open in 2011 and the Malaysian Open Grand Prix Gold this year – and the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) even consider them as potential medal winners in London.
Liu Ying said they had a chance to go far in the Olympics.
“Peng Soon and I have come a long way and we have the confidence to challenge the other pairs. Sometimes we play so well but sometimes, we don’t. Hopefully, our good side will surface in London,” she added.
Except for world No. 1 Zhang Nan-Zhao Yunlei of China and Indonesia’s formidable Ahmad Tantowi-Lilyana Natsir, the Malaysian pair have beaten all the others ranked higher than them.
Barring injuries, they certainly have an outside to challenge for at least a bronze medal and that, to Malaysia, would be an achievement indeed.
Courtesy of The Star