Weekend of Excellence

It was a weekend full of sporting action. Though Liverpool was not involve in the FA Cup matches, I was occupied by the Korean Open Badminton Super Series, the AFF Semifinal between Malaysia and Singapore and of course, the Australian Open. It was a weekend of sports to say the least, the best way to spend the weekend together with your loved ones.

First up, I managed to catch Kien Keat and Boon Heong in action for the semifinals of the Korean Open. Although they lost quite tamely to Hwang Ji Man and Lee Jae Jin, it would be understandable after two weeks of world class badminton. Something had to give but it was no shame as the Korean pair were deserving winners on the day. After watching the match, the honours for the Beijing Olympics could be a fascinating tussle between Koo-Tan, Chandra-Tony and the two Korean pairs, Jae Jin-Ji Man and the Korean Open winners, Yong Dae and Jae Sung. In my opinion, these pair would be the four best pairs in the world at the moment although the ranking may suggest otherwise. Hafiz put on a credible show against Chen Jin but succumbed to his errors once again. He could be the Roger Federer of badminton if he got his mental strength sorted out. That is how much I rate him talent wise.

Then, while hitting the gym, I manage to catch the later part of the 2nd half between Malaysia and Singapore in the AFF semifinals. It was a passionate affair. More brawns than brains kinda match but I finally could see some hunger from our national side. That is commendable although we lost on penalties. Let's hope their enthusiasm towards the game continue for our football to improve. Let's keep our fingers crossed.

Then finally, I witnessed a master class by Roger Federer. He is a champion that everyone loves. He is humble enough and yet confident enough to showcase his fantastic ability around the tennis court. Watching him play tennis makes you think that tennis is such an easy game. (It is not, believe me) Gonzalez played the match of his life yet came up way short against the Swiss mestro. He has 10 Grand Slams after winning the Aussie Open yesterday. At 25, I would suggest that he could easily surpass Pete Sampras's haul of 14 Grand Slams. Federer will be the best ever player in tennis's history. That is a safer bet than Man Utd winning the Champions League this season. Believe me!