Classic fish

Chief coach Li Yongbo of China’s national badminton team refused to nod 27-year-old Chen Hong’s apply for retirement while said yes to another quit-requesting veteran Xia Xuanze.
“I think it is the problem with his thought. I am trying to keep him and the matter is he should be confident,” Li said. Xia has been approved to leave the national team and will coach the national junior’s team, according to Li.
Chen ranks world No.4, behind only No.1 Lin Dan, 23, among Chinese shuttlers in world ranking. He kept Indonesia’s ‘bad boy’ Taufik Hidayat from top eight at last year’s World Champions to cracked down China’s arch-rival. Then the veteran retained his Chian Open title and won the Denmark Open in a hot run of form at the end 2006.
But he didn’t play for China’s 2006 Thomas Cup win and was dropped for year end’s Asian Games.
“Although 2008 is close at hand, it is beyond my reach,” he wrote about his decision on his blog at sohu.com.
“My age is a factor. My chance is becoming smaller and smaller as time goes by. Will I be able to stay in form? Will I get a fair chance?”
Coach Li Yongbo left Chen out of for the latest big events because he said he wanted to give some younger players international experience.
But the coach denied in a strong way the saying that to polish the young means to bench veterans. “Whether veterans will be on starting line-ups depends on them, not me,” he said, claiming opportunities are equal for Chen and young teammates like Lin Dan, Bao Chunlai and Chen Jin.
“Chen had asked to quit twice last year but we managed to keep him in both occasions,” said Li, who was not happy about Chen’s consecutive plea for retirement.

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