Can badminton deliver two medals?

LONDON, Aug 4 (Bernama) -- Will Datuk Lee Chong Wei deliver the elusive Olympic gold medal for Malaysia and will Koo Kien Keat/Tan Boon Heong add another medal, a bronze, for the Malaysian contingent from the 2012 London Olympics?

All will be answered in the badminton men's singles final and men's doubles bronze decider which will be held at the Wembley Arena, here tomorrow.World number two, Chong Wei will be up against arch rival Lin Dan of China while Koo/Tan will take on Chung Jae Sung/Lee Yong Dae from South Korea.

For Chong Wei, who is playing in his last Olympic, it will have to be gold of bust as he was the silver medallist at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

The Malaysian cruise to the final after beating Chen Long of China 21-13, 21-14 in Friday's semifinals while Koo/Tan lost 9-21, 19-21 to another Chinese duo, Cai Yun/Fi Haifeng in today's men's doubles semis which slotted them in the bronze decider against the South Korean doubles.

Since 1956, only shuttlers in the men's doubles, Cheah Soon Kit/Yap Kim Hock (Atlanta, 1996) and men's singles, Datuk Lee Chong Wei (Beijing 2008), have come close to clinching the gold but ended up with silver medals.

The Sidek brothers, Razif and Jalani, contributed Malaysia's first Olympic medal with a bronze at the 1992 Barcelona Games while their younger brother Rashid took home a bronze from the men's singles at the same Games.

It is noteworthy that all the medals have come from badminton. Will history be made tomorrow as all Malaysians will be waiting with bated breath to see if Chong Wei can deliver the much awaited gold.

Meanwhile, Malaysia's sensational track cyclist, Mohd Azizulhasni Awang also stands a chance to became a medal contributor too.

Dubbed "Pocket Rocketman," Mohd Azizulhasni qualified for the quarter-final of the Men's Sprint Individual event but faces an uphill task as he will ride besides Britain's top rider Jason Kenny.

The Briton earlier set a new Olympic record of 9.713 seconds to top the qualifying session while Mohd Azizulhasni recorded 10.226s for the 11th spot, out of 17 riders.

Besides badminton, tomorrow, Day Nine of the Games, two national athletes who were given wild card entries to the biggest sporting event on earth, will also be in action.

Noraseela Khalid will be competing in the women's 400m hurdles while Lee Hup Wei in the men's high jump.