David Palmer has fond memories
of Hong Kong. Winning there last year propelled the Australian to number one
in the world rankings. He profited then from the absence of the current top
two when Jonathon Power pulled out on the eve of the event with food
poisoning and Peter Nicol was sensationally beaten in the first round. Since
then Palmer has slipped to number three, but that doesn't bother him.
"Of course I want to be the world number one again. But I won't let that
bother me. My main goal is to win every tournament I take part in. If I
start doing that regularly, the rankings will take care of itself," the
26-year-old Palmer told the South China Morning Post.
"I'm feeling good. I have been training for the last two months and I will
want to start the season on a positive note. I lost in the semi-finals of
the Commonwealth Games last month to Peter Nicol but it was a close game
even though the score was 3-0. I feel confident and I'm looking forward to
defending my title."
Palmer picks Jonathon Power as the most likely winner in Hong Kong this
week. "Jonathon is the form player at the moment. He has won four
tournaments this year and on paper he must be regarded as the hot
favourite."
The world's top two players were both hedging their bets though.
"Well, I guess I'm one of the favourites. Not THE favourite. I have been
playing well this year and I hope to continue that form this week here,"
said Power.
"Obviously I want to do better this time. last year I played well but
Thierry Lincou played fantastically and it showed when he went on to reach
the finals," said Peter Nicol. "While Jonathon believes that he will be
mentally stronger coming up against me, I will be thinking that 'he can't
keep winning'".
But, as the SCMP puts it, "barring unforseen accidents and unexpected
ambushes from fired-up Frenchmen, the money will be on another Nicol-Power
meeting in the final on Sunday."
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