Jorrit de Ruiter

Unfortunately we have not succeeded to win the first round of the Yonex Chinese Taipei Open, We lost from the Malaysian double Choong Tan Fook- and Lee Wan Wah who are placed fifth. 

Before the game we had discussed with our coach Mr. Kim that we wouldn’t take risks during the first five rallies. This to get accustomed to the circumstances, and particularly the draught, in the hall. We managed quite well to keep a close score and at the 90 seconds break the score was 11-8. After the break we couldn’t continue playing in the same way which, for some reason, was the second time we had this problem. Last week in Macau we had the same problem. The second part of the first game was over in no time and we lost 21-12.

In the second game we played better and more rallies. It was important to play the shuttle not to close to the line because the draught could blow the shuttle off the court. In this game the Malaysians scored 6 consecutive points after the break which made the gap too big to bridge. We lost the second game with 21-15. This match was better than the one we played last week but I am not really satisfied. The error rate was too high and we need to learn playing with a draught in the hall. Therefore we will have to play this kind of tournaments more often and to see whether we can go to training camps in Asia to train with much stronger players. Only that way you can get accustomed to the playing speed of the Asians. Until now we are repeatedly surprised by their speed and techniques. 

Looking back, we haven’t exactly been lucky with the draws these two tournaments. We had world class opponents. Nevertheless we learned a lot from these two matches and from watching other matches. 

This weekend, we’ll fly back home via Hong Kong. Next week we start preparing ourselves for the world championships tournament in Paris which will begin on August 23rd. Just before leaving for Paris, we’ll first have a brief training camp with the Germans in Mülheim.

Of course you’ll hear from me again when I am back in the Netherlands. For now a final farewell from Asia! Hope to “see you soon again”.

This message has been posted on donderdag 5 augustus 2010 at 05:50.