Thomas Cup Early Upset

Malaysian team has successfully lost to Japan 3-2 in group stage, and placing them among the traditional strong badminton nations, including China, Denmark, and Korea as potential opponents. I was so excited to stop working and rush home to watch how Lee Chong Wei plays against Kenichi Tago, whom he beats in a controversy way in All England final by a wrong line call. This time, back to home ground, LCW did not give Tago any chances to dominate the play, in fact he was dominating Tago, and Tago seemed had lost his way when LCW took the lead, it was a piece of cake for LCW.

Back to the 2nd match, the first men double. Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong were outstanding, although Boon Heong was a bit out of the form in the 2nd game. It was a considerably easy game for the Malaysian. I'm very glad that they have proved their ability to play in the high profile tournament like Thomas Cup. I wish they can continue to perform, regardless of the Malaysia team's progress in this tournament.

After talking about the good points. Here comes the bad ones. The 2nd single player, Wong Choong Hann is aging and stamina seems to have taken toll on him. His finishing is not that good anymore and, I can say he is error prone, due to the physical condition. I was hoping that Malaysia team can easily cruise to 3-0 up, counting on Wong's experience in this tournament. Unfortunately, it does not materialize.

The 2nd men double and 3rd single for the line up are flops. I did not watch the entire match of the 2nd double, but by looking at the score, it is pathetic. It is angry that I witnessed the loss of Malaysia without a true fight. They seem like not ready for Thomas Cup, but just for a routine training sparring game with players from different country, it is not even like an exhibition match. So sad...

However, the loss to Japan is not the end of the world, I hope the Thomas Cup players can pick themselves up quickly enough, and prepare themselves for the brutal showdown against Denmark. Everyone needs to give 100%, not to let down the Malaysian supporters that always behind our badminton team. Don't take any single point for granted. Malaysia Boleh.... come on....