Set for the best

Nicol David of Malaysia prepares to hit the ball in the mixed doubles squash quarterfinals of the XIX Commonwealth Games in New Delhi on Oct 12. Deshakalyan Chowdhury / AFP File photo

GUANGZHOU - Riding on its success at the recent Commonwealth Games, Malaysia has set its sights on recording its best-ever medal tally at the Asian Games.

More than 200 Malaysian athletes, many of whom competed in New Delhi, where the team won nine gold medals last month, are coming to China to claim more glory for their country.

Badminton is the nation's national pastime, and sports fans in Malaysia have high hopes for Lee Chong Wei, the sports' world No 1 ranked men's player.

However, Lee hurt his right ankle at the Commonwealth Games on his way to the gold medal and, while doctors say it won't keep him from the Asiad, it could influence his performance.

In Guangzhou, where badminton is also the undisputed favorite game, the battle for the men's single title between Lee, Chinese Olympic and world champion Lin Dan and defending champion Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia, is as keenly anticipated as any event at the games.

At the 2006 Doha Asiad, the then 22-year-old Lee lost to the Indonesian in the semifinals and the latter went on to defeat Lin in the title match to claim his second Asian Games singles title in a row.

Besides badminton, Malaysia is also very competitive in squash, bowling and wushu; events it has triumphed in at previous Asian Games.

Squash star Nicol David is a virtual certainty for gold, having followed up her Commonwealth Games victory by chalking up her eighth consecutive Women's International Squash Association title in Mexico last week.

The five-time world champion, who has been world No 1 since August 2006, has few serious challengers in Guangzhou, with the next best Asian woman being Hong Kong's Annie Au, down at 17 in the rankings.

The country also has high hopes for Josiah Ng, who made Malaysian track cycling history with a gold-medal winning performance at the Commonwealth Games.

Ng won the keirin event and is pumped up for another golden show in China.

Also on the team is Azizul Hasni Awang, the man who crossed the line ahead of Ng in Delhi only to be disqualified for a dangerous sprinting move.

"It used to be Azizul alone taking the pressure but I'm glad I have got my level up at the right time," Ng said.

The only time Malaysia had previously won gold medals in Asian Games cycling was 40 years ago.

The team's management says it expects to win nine gold medals in Guangzhou. Its previous best result came four years ago in Doha, where it won eight gold medals, 17 silver and 17 bronze.

AFP contributed to the story.