Misbun expects Chong Wei to return stronger after Lin Dan jolt
News 4:51 PM
WORLD No. 1 Lee Chong Wei has been given a few days' break to recover from a painful defeat by Lin Dan of China.
But when he returns, national singles coach Misbun Sidek said that it would be the Malaysian's turn to raise the stakes against Lin Dan.
On Friday, Chong Wei's vulnerability in front of his home crowd was exposed by Lin Dan, who crushed the Malaysian 21-17, 21-8 in the opening match of the Thomas Cup semi-final tie.
Misbun said it was painful on Chong Wei to suffer a shattering defeat, his first time in six months.
Rude shock: Misbun Sidek said Lin Dan's finesse and gtreat anticipation caught Lee Chong Wei by surprise. In the absence of Lin Dan, the Malaysian had won the Super Series Masters Finals and the Opens in South Korea and Malaysia. Chong Wei also won the All-England and in the tournament in Birmingham in March, Lin Dan was eliminated by compatriot Bao Chunlai in the quarter-finals.
“Lin Dan finesse and great anticipation in the game caught Chong Wei by surprise. It is not about Chong Wei not playing well. It was about Lin Dan raising his game a notch higher,” said Misbun.
“He played so well that Chong Wei was not able to bring out his strong points. Chong Wei panicked while Lin Dan continued to provoke him with brilliant shots.
“Chong Wei without his smashes is not Chong Wei. And that is exactly what Lin Dan did - broke Chong Wei's rhythm from the start. He also anticipated well at the net too. It was an extraordinary performance from Lin Dan.”
Misbun said the defeat was a good wake-up call for Chong Wei.
“This is a big jolt for him and I hope he will recover quickly from it. There are the world championships, Commonwealth Games and Asian Games for him to look forward to,” he said.
While the focus will be on the elite shuttlers gearing up for major events, Misbun said that he would not forget about adding depth to the team.
“The outcome against China showed that we lacked depth in our team. We depended heavily on Chong Wei and Koo (Kien Keat)-Tan (Boon Heong). We have to improve the situation and have a well-balanced side fot the challenge at the next Thomas Cup Finals,” he said.
Malaysia had to count on veteran Wong Choong Hann, who had left the national team two years ago, for the second singles and he lost all his matches.
Choong Hann is certainly not coming back to don national colours again while it is unsure whether Mohd Hafiz Hashim will be kept in the team.
With that in mind, Malaysia will have to quickly look for able replacements to work on forming a strong men's team.
HOW MALAYSIA FARED IN THE 2010 THOMAS CUP FINALS
■ GROUP B
Lost to Japan 2-3: Lee Chong Wei bt Kenichi Tago 21-12, 21-13; Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong bt Noriyasu Hirata-Hirokatsu Hashimoto 21-13, 21-17; Wong Choong Hann lost to Sho Sasaki 17-21, 18-21; Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari-Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif lost to Kenichi Hayakawa-Kenta Kazuno 15-21, 12-21; Mohd Hafiz Hashim lost to Shoji Sato 10-21, 21-14, 18-21.
* Malaysia received walkover from no show Nigeria
■ QUARTER-FINALS
Beat Denmark 3-2: Lee Chong Wei bt Peter-Gade Christensen 21-17, 21-17; Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong bt Carsten Mogensen-Mathias Boe 21-17, 21-19; Wong Choong Hann lost to Jan O Jorgensen 20-22, 21-16, 18-21; Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif-Hoon Thien How lost to Lars Paaske-Jonas Rasmussen 26-24, 12-21, 19-21; Mohd Hafiz Hashim bt Joachim Persson 21-12, 21-10.
■ SEMI-FINALS
Lost to China 0-3: Lee Chong Wei lost to Lin Dan 17-21, 8-21; Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong lost to Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng 15-21, 10-21; Wong Choong Hann lost to Chen Jin 16-21, 7-21.
But when he returns, national singles coach Misbun Sidek said that it would be the Malaysian's turn to raise the stakes against Lin Dan.
On Friday, Chong Wei's vulnerability in front of his home crowd was exposed by Lin Dan, who crushed the Malaysian 21-17, 21-8 in the opening match of the Thomas Cup semi-final tie.
Misbun said it was painful on Chong Wei to suffer a shattering defeat, his first time in six months.
Rude shock: Misbun Sidek said Lin Dan's finesse and gtreat anticipation caught Lee Chong Wei by surprise. “Lin Dan finesse and great anticipation in the game caught Chong Wei by surprise. It is not about Chong Wei not playing well. It was about Lin Dan raising his game a notch higher,” said Misbun.
“He played so well that Chong Wei was not able to bring out his strong points. Chong Wei panicked while Lin Dan continued to provoke him with brilliant shots.
“Chong Wei without his smashes is not Chong Wei. And that is exactly what Lin Dan did - broke Chong Wei's rhythm from the start. He also anticipated well at the net too. It was an extraordinary performance from Lin Dan.”
Misbun said the defeat was a good wake-up call for Chong Wei.
“This is a big jolt for him and I hope he will recover quickly from it. There are the world championships, Commonwealth Games and Asian Games for him to look forward to,” he said.
While the focus will be on the elite shuttlers gearing up for major events, Misbun said that he would not forget about adding depth to the team.
“The outcome against China showed that we lacked depth in our team. We depended heavily on Chong Wei and Koo (Kien Keat)-Tan (Boon Heong). We have to improve the situation and have a well-balanced side fot the challenge at the next Thomas Cup Finals,” he said.
Malaysia had to count on veteran Wong Choong Hann, who had left the national team two years ago, for the second singles and he lost all his matches.
Choong Hann is certainly not coming back to don national colours again while it is unsure whether Mohd Hafiz Hashim will be kept in the team.
With that in mind, Malaysia will have to quickly look for able replacements to work on forming a strong men's team.
HOW MALAYSIA FARED IN THE 2010 THOMAS CUP FINALS
■ GROUP B
Lost to Japan 2-3: Lee Chong Wei bt Kenichi Tago 21-12, 21-13; Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong bt Noriyasu Hirata-Hirokatsu Hashimoto 21-13, 21-17; Wong Choong Hann lost to Sho Sasaki 17-21, 18-21; Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari-Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif lost to Kenichi Hayakawa-Kenta Kazuno 15-21, 12-21; Mohd Hafiz Hashim lost to Shoji Sato 10-21, 21-14, 18-21.
* Malaysia received walkover from no show Nigeria
■ QUARTER-FINALS
Beat Denmark 3-2: Lee Chong Wei bt Peter-Gade Christensen 21-17, 21-17; Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong bt Carsten Mogensen-Mathias Boe 21-17, 21-19; Wong Choong Hann lost to Jan O Jorgensen 20-22, 21-16, 18-21; Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif-Hoon Thien How lost to Lars Paaske-Jonas Rasmussen 26-24, 12-21, 19-21; Mohd Hafiz Hashim bt Joachim Persson 21-12, 21-10.
■ SEMI-FINALS
Lost to China 0-3: Lee Chong Wei lost to Lin Dan 17-21, 8-21; Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong lost to Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng 15-21, 10-21; Wong Choong Hann lost to Chen Jin 16-21, 7-21.
Posted by Lucas Liau
on 4:51 PM.
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