“In spite of the Indon’s absence, every other match in the All-England will be tough for me.”
“It has been four years since I last won the All-England title. It was one of my most treasured moments. No, I have not lost the fire yet. I still feel strongly about winning it for the second time,” he said.
He is expected to play Indonesian Sony Dwi Kuncoro in the second round. If he wins, he is set to play top seed Lin Dan, who has shown that he is the favourite for the title after winning the Korean and German Opens.
“My brother (Roslin) plays Lin Dan in the first round. Hopefully, he can upset the Chinese. If not, I will probably meet him (Lin Dan) in the last eight. That is the biggest challenge for me.”
The winner then could meet either Denmark’s Peter Gade-Christensen or China’s Bao Chunlai in the semi-finals.
In the lower half, the fight is expected to be among second seed Chen Jin and Chen Yu of China, Denmark’s Kenneth Jonassen and Malaysia’s Lee Chong Wei for a ticket to the final.
While Hafiz is eager to get his hands on the All-England title for the second time, former international Jalani just can’t wait to see another Malaysian pair ending the country’s agonising wait for the title.
The famous Sidek brothers Jalani and Razif did the country proud long time ago when they won the All-England in 1982.
Only two other pairs who have come close to ending the drought. They were Cheah Soon Kit-Yap Kim Hock but they lost to Indonesian Rexy Mainaky-Ricky Subagja in the 1996 final.
The other pair were Choong Tan Fook-Lee Wan Wah, who finished as the runners-up to Denmark’s Jens Eriksen-Martin Lundgaard Hansen twice in 2004 and 2006.
Based on the current performances of the men’s doubles players especially Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong, Jalani feels that the wait could end this week.
“I have waited for so many years to see a new winner. This record of being the previous Malaysian All-England winner, is something that I do not like to hold on to,” said Jalani.
“For me, only Soon Kit-Kim Hock came close to winning it but they lost in the rubber game to the Indons. Now, finally, we have a reliable pair in Koo-Tan.
“The race is still open in the men’s doubles. This is the best chance for Malaysian pairs to win it.”
However, he pointed out that winning at All-England is not going to be easy.
“It is a tournament that everyone wants to win. They go the extra mile here. Boon Heong is playing in the All-England for the first time. He must keep his emotions in check.”
“National coach Rexy (Mainkay) can only do so much but the players must do their part too. I really hope that the doubles players will rise to the occasion this time,” he added.