Thomas Cup: Done in 1992 and it can happen yet again
News 4:48 PM
THE battle to snatch three points to dethrone China as the Thomas Cup champions will be a very difficult one indeed for Malaysia in the semi-final tie at the Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil tonight.
Malaysia world No. 1s Lee Chong Wei and Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong are ranked higher than Lin Dan and Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng but in reality, the Chinese players have the better records over the Malaysians and better depth in their game.
And China also look better in the other three matches - the second and third singles and the second doubles.
It appears that Malaysia are faced with an impossible task but the coaches are optimistic that the team can surmount the odds against them with the help of the vociferous and passionate fans to lift their performances.
Singles chief coach Rashid Sidek said that together with his eldest brother, Misbun, they would have to come up with a strategy for Chong Wei to get Malaysia off to a flying start in his match against Lin Dan.
“The outcome of this match will be the make or break for us. All the three singles matches are tough for us against China but Chong Wei has the best chance to win a point. His match should set the tempo for the team to fight all the way,” he said
Rashid remembers his upset win over Zhao Jianhua in the first singles match in the 1992 Thomas Cup semi-finals at the Stadium Negara in Kuala Lumpur.
“Nobody gave me a chance to beat Zhao at that time. I did it because I believed in myself and the fans played a big part in motivating me. I hope our players will get the same support.”
Thanks to Rashid's gallant effort, Malaysia went on to beat China 3-2 to reach the final and defeated Indonesia to lift the Cup.
“I hope the other singles players will fight all the way against their opponents who are better than them,” he said.
Malaysia have Wong Choong Hann and Mohd Hafiz Hashim to play the second and third singles matches respectively.
Rashid hopes that the doubles pairs will play their parts above expectations too.
“China's weak link used to be their doubles. They usually played in the Finals with a lack of depth in the second doubles and they would try to prevent a tie from going into a fourth match. But this time, they have a stronger line-up but we can still steal a point here,” he said.
Besides Cai Yun-Haifeng, the other Chinese pairs are Guo Zhengdong-Xu Chen and Zhang Nan-Chai Biao. Zhengdong-Xu Chen are expected to play the second doubles and if the tie goes into this match, Rashid hopes that the Malaysian pair will spring a surprise.
“Zhengdong-Xu Chen lost to the South Korean pair (Yoo Yeon-seong-Ko Sung-hyun) in the group tie. We have hopes to steal a point here,” said Rashid.
Malaysia have an option to field their third ranked pair, Ong Soon Hock-Hoon Thien How, or retain the scratch combination of Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif-Thien How who were fielded in the quarter-finals against Denmark.
“We were beaten 2-3 by China in the semi-finals in Jakarta two years ago. Hopefully, we will succeed in turning the tables on them to avenge that defeat,” said Rashid.
Posted by Lucas Liau
on 4:48 PM.
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