The result is expected. Going against China in the quarterfinal of the Thomas Cup means reaching the end of the tournament before arriving at the semi final stage which is the goal of our Malaysian badminton team. The absence of Lee Chong Wei further worsen the situation after having a serious ankle injury few days ago in match against Denmark. Hope he would recovers very soon and get back on court in top form for this upcoming London 2012 Olympic Games and try to secure the country’s first ever Olympic gold medal. Anyway, don’t get pressurized much.
After losing Lee Chong Wei in the Thomas Cup, the national badminton team knew their hope to get at least into semi-final would seems impossible as the team on their way in quarterfinal is the country of defending champion, the mighty China. As expected, China defeated Malaysia easily by 3 – 0, without the need of last two matches. It is no way for Malaysia to get at least a point this time. On the other hand, Japan unbelievably defeated Indonesia to get into the semi-final and will face China next. That means Japan would stop at semi-final stage. Correct to my prediction, China would gets into the final alongside with South Korea, and in the end, I think China would wins again. That’s usual for badminton championships nowadays. China is too strong on this sport.
Well, Malaysia now has to depend on only one player, and he is Lee Chong Wei. That gave him a lot of pressure which is not good. That would affects his performance and mentality. Hope he would gets rid of all the pressure and enjoy his upcoming games. Let’s don’t be too dependent on Chong Wei for winning a gold for Malaysia. There are other players, and they should be recognized as well eventhough Chong Wei had a much bigger chance for getting the gold medal. Credit is given to Liew Daren, our national junior player who gave a good performance in the Thomas Cup. He managed to win point for Malaysia against the much experienced Jan O Jorgensen from Denmark and he gave a good fight against the superb Lin Dan in quarterfinal. Eventhough he lost to Lin Dan in rubber game which is nothing to worry or surprised of, he delivers. Lin Dan even praised him for having good talent in the sport and wishes he can accelerates on his performance. On the other hand, Daren said that he would just enjoy the game and doesn’t mind losing it since he is up against a top player. That is a right attitude. Sometimes, just enjoying the game without stress would contributes to a better performance, and his match against Lin Dan proves it. By the way, eventhough Daren lost, but I still couldn’t believe he could win a game from him.
Not the same quality is delivered by the other players in our national badminton team. Koo Kien Keat always lost nowadays, no matter who he get paired with in doubles matches. His pairing with Tan Boon Heong is supposed to be good but their performance went bad. A series of intensive training should be carried out on them so they can perform something similar to what they have done before in Doha 2006 Asian Games when they win the gold medal in men doubles. Hafiz is a serious disappointment. He is there just to give an easy point to the opponent. His performance went down to almost at the bottom level. He seems to possess very low ‘energy’ or spirit while playing. It’s time to find another capable player to replace him. But wait, it seems now that Malaysia seriously lacks new talented players or any experienced ones. They will find solution for that. But now, coming back to Malaysia after expected defeat in Thomas Cup held in Wuhan, China this year, it’s time for them to stay focus and concentrate on the upcoming London 2012 Summer Olympic Games.
Vincent Loy's Online Journal 