this is where it really matters. i dont care if you won the thailand open, swiss open, malaysian open, whatever open. your preparations should be focused on the biggest stage of all, do not peak at the wrong time! i would rate the all england as second, and the olympics third in stature.
Location: USA. Only there can u see a scene like this before a badminton match! Pic courtesy of thestar.com.my:

As usual, our Malaysian women are flops. our top women�s doubles pair, Chin Eei Hui-Wong Pei Tty�s hopes of bagging a first-ever medal in the World Championships were dashed when they fell to South Korea�s Lee Hyo-jung-Lee Kyung-won 6 and 5 in the quarter-finals at Arrowhead Pond on Thursday.
the star’s report excerpt:
The Malaysian pair crumbled under their opponents� relentless attack …
…should have played a smarter game by attacking the Hyo-jung, who was making more mistakes than her partner Kyung-won, in the first game.
…game fell apart and it was all over for them after 40 minutes.
Pei Tty said the Korean pair were a step above them. �Our defence was not too good. They returned all our smashes and we began to make more mistakes,� she said.
Although Eei Hui-Pei Tty were able to justify their top eight seeding status, national coach Cheah Soon Kit felt it could have been a different story.
�I do not know why they were so nervous because there was no pressure on them. They had qualified for the top eight after all,� said Soon Kit.
�The Koreans played at a fast attacking pace and our pair started to become nervous.
�That�s when they started to commit more mistakes. There was a good opportunity for them to beat them for a place in the semis but they failed to make the most of it.�
men’s singles
f
taufik bt lin dan (world no.1) 3 and 7. Taufik creates history by being the first man to hold both Olympic and World titles. Taufik is also reigning Asian champion.
Taufik’s comment: “It was a surprise that Lin Dan made so many errors in the first game.”
Lin Dan’s comment: “I never expected to play this badly. I made a lot of mistakes. Everything started going in the wrong direction”
sf
chong wei,23 lt taufik hidayat,24 3 and 12. failed at the biggest stage, but i like chong wei’s fighting spirit.
lin dan bt peter gade 2-1
qf
chong wei beat china no.2 bao chunlai 5 and 7
3rd rnd
all lost except chong wei, bt German easily
worst is Hafiz - no more excuses! lost to lee hyun il
excerpt from the star:
…Misbun Sidek said shuttler Mohd Hafiz Hashim only has himself to blame for muffing a chance to progress to the quarter-finals in his second World Championships appearance.
�Hafiz was not aggressive enough. He waited for Lee (Hyun-il) to make his move despite leading in the second game.
�He could not break his rival’s rhythm and paid for it in the end,� said Misbun.
He added that Hafiz lost his momentum in the second game when the flow of the draught was against him.
�He was trying to overcome the wind and not his opponent. This was his mistake and he has to learn from this experience.�
Hyun-il, the top Korean singles player, said: �I studied him as I knew he was one of those players I was likely to play against.
�In the first game, I thought it was difficult at first. But I had the better pace and consistency and was able to beat him.�
On the draught, Hyun-il said his strategy was to hit close to the net when returning Hafiz’s shots.
�It paid off as I was able to settle down fast in the second game,� said Hyun-il.
men’s doubles
f
gunawan/bach (Vietnam born) bt sigit/candra wijaya 15-11, 10-15, 15-11. This what you call fantasia becomes realitia! It was not a case of the Indons playing badly. It was a case of the home crowd lifting performances.
Bach’s comment: “Not in a billion, zillion light years. Who am I to be playing with legends like Candra, Sigit and Tony. And to beat them? It feels surreal right now. The emotions were running crazy but we had nothing to lose or to prove and we just followed our instincts.”
Gunawan’s comment: “I don�t know about Howard but I was already running out of gas. I tried to concentrate and the crowd helped me a lot.”
Candra Wijaya’s comment: “It was disappointing. We were confident because we felt that we had the better skills and talent. But everything changed on court. The crowd also supported them and that lifted their performance. They played extremely well.”
sf
chong ming/kean keat lt 2nd seeds and 1997 world champions Candra Wijaya and Sigit Budiarto (indon) 9 & 11
bach/gunawan bt luluk/alven 9 & 13
qf
new heroes: chong ming/kean keat bt experienced indonesians and athens bronze medalist flandy limpele/eng hian 6-15, 15-12, 15-9
3rd rnd
all lost except one pair: way to go Chan Chong Ming / Koo Kean Keat (8th seed)! upset All England champs, 2nd/3rd seed Fu Haifeng/Cai Yun (China) 11-15, 15-4,
The Star’s report excerpt:
Young doubles pair of Chan Chong Ming-Koo Kien Keat lifted the gloom for Malaysia when they stunned reigning All-England champions Fu Haifeng-Cai Yun of China to move into the quarter-finals of the World Championships at Arrowhead Pond on Thursday.
Chong Ming-Kien Keat, who were the last of the Malaysian pairs to take to the court, had lost the first game 11-15 and it looked like the doubles challenge at the world meet was coming to an end.
It was then that Chong Ming-Kien Keat came alive and did the unexpected.
They threw caution to the wind and put up a superb attacking display to win the second game 15-4.
The third seeded Chinese pair attempted to come back in the rubber but the Malaysians held on to win 15-8.