THE towering Xie Zhongbo-Guo Zhengdong were not expected to win a single match in the Thomas Cup Finals. But they were mobbed and hugged by their jubilant team-mates at the Istora Senayan in Jakarta last night.

The duo pulled off a sensational 21-12, 19-21, 21-12 win over the more fancied Lee Jae-jin-Hwang Ji-man to give China the winning point in a 3-1 victory over South Korea in the Thomas Cup final.

It was the third consecutive win in the series and seventh overall for China since they made a winning debut in the world men’s team championships in London in 1982.

Shortlived joy: South Korea’s Jung Jae-sung (left) and Lee Yong-dae celebrating after beating China’s Fu Haifeng and Cai Yun Sunday. – Reuters

The other two points for China last night were won by world number one Lin Dan and world number three Bao Chunlai.

China dropped a point in the first doubles through Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng, who were blown away by All-England champions Jung Jae-sung-Lee Yong-dae 23-25, 16-21.

It was dejection for the Koreans as they saw their hopes of winning the Thomas Cup go up in smoke. But still, the Koreans can walk tall for reaching their first-ever final and bowing out fighting in the final.

The first match of the night between Lin Dan and Park Sung-hwan set the tempo for the keenly contested tie.

Crucial win: Bao Chunlai of China stretching to return a shot against Lee Hyun-il of South Korea Sunday. Chunlai won 28-26, 21-11. – AFP

Lin Dan came charging back after losing the first game tamely at 10-21. With more ferocity in his attacks, a pumped up Lin Dan slowly broke Sung-hwan resolve in the second game, winning 21-18. After winning the decider at 21-8, he celebrated as though China had won the Cup.

He bowed to the spectators, waved repeatedly and even threw his shirt to the delight of the thousands of spectators in the stadium.

“I am so happy to have delivered the first point. There was so much of pressure,” said Lin Dan, who crashed to a tame defeat by Malaysia’s Lee Chong Wei in the semi-finals on Friday.

But China’s celebration died off briefly in the first doubles when Jae-sung-Yong-dae fought tooth and nail to level the tie, beating Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng 25-23, 21-16.

In the second singles, Lee Hyun-il gave Chunlai a run for his money in the first game. Hyun-il took a comfortable lead at 14-11 and raised hopes on the Korean ability to lift the Cup but Chunlai refused to buckle.

Chunlai fought back, unleashing his deadly smashes to keep pace with the Korea and hung on for a 28-26 win.

In the second game, Chunlai had no problem against the demoralised Hyun-il, romping home for a 21-11 win.

The lanky Chunlai, who had beaten Hyun-il with less effort in their last five meetings, said: “I certainly did not expect the first game to be so close.

“He (hyun-il) put so much pressure on me but after the deuce, I was more determined. I stayed focused and I am very pleased, I was able to overcome the pressure,” he said.

Article source:

TheStar News

THE celebrations looked a touch overdone but Wong Choong Hann can be forgiven for the outpouring of emotion following his Thomas Cup quarter-final second singles win over Japan’s Kenichi Sato at Istora Senayan yesterday.

Victory, which gave Malaysia an unassailable 3-0 lead, was achieved in fairly routine fashion but the celebrations were actually more of thanksgiving as Choong Hann felt that he had atoned for what happened in the 2006 edition in Tokyo.

Then, a ruptured Achilles tendon when playing second singles against South Korea’s Park Sung Hwan at the same stage meant the end of Choong Hann’s campaign and there were also doubts as to whether the 2003 world championships silver medalist would ever play again.

“I feared the worst when I entered the court, thinking whether I would suffer the same fate. I disappointed the team in Tokyo and I’m thankful I managed to win my match and secure Malaysia’s winning point today (yesterday),” said World No 15 Choong Hann.

In Tokyo, Malaysia managed to beat the Koreans 3-2 but Choong Hann’s absence was felt in the semi-finals against Denmark as they made their exit.

There were no signs of injury yesterday though as Choong Hann won 21-13, 21-18.

“National chief coach Yap Kim Hock also advised me to relax. That helped as I stayed focused and victory was easily achieved.”

But having safely come through the quarter-finals, Choong Hann must now prepare to play a major role in tomorrow’s semi-final against champions China.

Choong Hann is expected to play World No 3 Bao Chunlai, a player he has not beaten in their last two meetings.

In fact, Chunlai leads the head-to-head 6-3 but Choong Hann reckons he, and Malaysia, have a chance against China if they play as a team.

“We have to follow the instructions of the coaches and if we do that, we can win.”

If Malaysia do, it will be interesting to see just how emotional Choong Hann gets.

Article source:

The New Straits Times

Malaysia’s Wong Mew Choo plays a shot to South Korea’s Hwang Hye Youn yesterday. Mew Choo won 21-16, 21-5.

WONG Mew Choo rattled the South Koreans by earning the first point but it did little to inspire her teammates as Malaysia lost 3-1 in the Uber Cup quarter-finals at Istora Senayan yesterday.

However, if only the national coaches had decided to retain the Wong Pei Tty-Chin Eei Hui combination, it could have been a different story.

Mew Choo produced another grand performance in her match against Hwang Hye Youn.

However, it did not start smoothly for her as she was trailing 5-10 and 7-12 before Mew Choo roared back by capitalising Hye Youn’s weakness at the baseline. The Malaysian won the first game 21-16.

Mew Choo was more superior in the second game as she took a quick 13-2 lead. The tiring Korean could not do much as she managed only three points after that before conceding the game 21-5 in a match which lasted 34 minutes.

It was Mew Choo’s first victory in three meetings with the Korean.

The national coaches retained Lim Pek Siah-Wong Pei Tty as the first doubles, hoping they would repeat their fantastic performance against Japan on Tuesday.

However, it backfired as the Malaysians were humiliated 21-13, 21-4 by Lee Hyo Jung-Kim Min Jung for Korea to level the tie.

Julia Wong, who secured Malaysia’s winning point in their 3-0 win over Japan, was expected to win against Lee Yun Hwa - a player ranked nine rungs below her in the women’s world ranking - in the second singles.

However, the Malaysian lost 21-14, 21-13 in 34 minutes.

In the second doubles, scratch pair Chin Eei Hui-Ng Hui Ling gave some hope of upsetting Lee Kyung Won-Ha Jung Eun when they won the opening game 21-17.

However the Malaysians failed to maintain their rhythm and lost the second 21-16 and the decider 21-12.

Mew Choo said despite the loss, it was a victory for the Maalaysian women.

“We played our hearts out and I believe we bowed out with dignity. Other countries will take notice of our performance in the future,” said Mew Choo.

Article source:

The New Straits Times

THE Malaysian Uber Cup squad defied the odds in the playoff round for quarter-final berths, knocking out second seeds Japan 3-0 at the Istora Senayan in Jakarta yesterday.

The Malaysians showed no after-effects of their demoralising 2-3 defeat by Denmark just a day earlier when they overpowered the Japanese for the first-time ever in the Uber Cup Finals.

By booking a spot in the last eight against South Korea today, the Malaysians equalled their best-ever achievement in the Finals accomplished in 2004, also in Jakarta. Then, they bowed out 0-3 against China.

Yesterday, Wong Mew Choo and Julia Wong redeemed themselves after their losses against the Danes by delivering two crucial points.

In between, the gamble to split the doubles combinations paid handsome dividends when Lim Pek Siah teamed up with Wong Pei Tty to stun the more fancied Satoko Suetsuna-Miyuki Maeda 21-15, 21-18 in the first doubles.

Mew Choo set the ball rolling for Malaysia with a clinical 21-17, 21-18 victory over Eriko Hirose in just 41 minutes.

The decision to balance up the strength of the two pairs by breaking up the first ranked combination of Pei Tty and Chin Eei Hui worked wonders. And Eei Hui and Ng Hui Lin were not required to play the second doubles match after the tie went dead in favour of Malaysia.

Against the athletic Suetsuna-Maeda, Pek Siah-Pei Tty banked on their vast experience to remain in control and make it 2-0 for Malaysia.

It was left to Julia to clinch the winning point, and she did not disappoint against Yu Hirayama.

After taking the first game 21-15, Julia lost focus and lost the second tamely at 10-21. She was also on the ropes in the rubber, trailing 6-11 at the court changeover. But concerns over a repeat meltdown that let to her defeat by Denmark’s Nanna Brosolat Jensen proved unfounded.

After a pep talk from Mew Choo and also coach Rashid Sidek, the Malaysian number two fought back and levelled the score at 13-13. Both players traded points until 19-19 before Julia pulled away to seal a famous win.

“I lost my way midway through the second game and the decline continued at the start of the third game,” said Julia.

“Mew Choo’s advice to me was to be more patient with my attacking game. I was rushing into making attacks and this allowed Hirayama to exploit the situation. I heeded the advice and regained control and was determined to fight back and never gave up.”

Rashid said that Malaysia can expect a much tougher hurdle against third seeds South Korea today.

“After China, the Koreans are the next toughest opponents to play in the Uber Cup. They have all-round strength and they also have more experience in their side. But our confidence is high after defeating Japan and we are hoping to put on another good performance in the quarter-finals,” he said.

Fourth seeded Malaysia had to go into the playoff round, involving second and third-placed teams in groups, after finishing as the runners-up in Group Y behind Denmark and ahead of New Zealand.

Article source:

TheStar News

MALAYSIA have decided that they want to emerge as the winners of Group B for a direct entry to the Thomas Cup quarter-finals, even if it means going into the same half as defending champions China.

Malaysia chalked up a 5-0 win over England yesterday and they will play against South Korea at the Istora Senayan in Jakarta today. The losers will have to play an extra tie to get into the quarter-finals in the other half of the draw, which should have Indonesia and Denmark.

National singles coach Misbun Sidek said yesterday of their final group fixture: “Today, we fielded our best players. We will do the same to take on the South Koreans.”

If Malaysia beat South Korea to top the group, they will play against either Germany or Japan in the quarter-finals. The Germans were beaten 2-3 by Thailand in Group D yesterday and they will have to earn the quarter-final berth in a play-off against the runners-up in Group C.

Sweat it out: Choong Tan Fook-Lee Wan Wah needed all their experience to beat England’s Robert Adcock-Robin Middleton 21-19, 21-16.

And a quarter-final win for Malaysia will give them a tie against China for a place in the final.

Yesterday, a Malaysian team at full strength came under stiff challenges from the English side.

Lee Chong Wei, Wong Choong Hann and the veteran pair of Germany or Japan, especially, had to dig deep into their reserve to win their matches. The other two points came from Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong and Mohd Hafiz Hashim.

Misbun said that it was a good warm-up ahead of the tie against South Korea.

“The players took time to get adjusted to the draught in the stadium, the lighting and the whole environment. Some of our players struggled but I am not worried at all. Chong Wei did not show variety in his game and he has to improve on this,” he said.

National doubles coach Rexy Mainaky admitted that the Malaysian players would have to double their efforts, especially in the doubles.

“I understand why the players struggled today. They were the best Malaysian players and nothing but a win was expected from them. This affected their play,” he said.

On their chances against South Korea, Rexy said that it would depend on the line-up their opponents chose to field.

“You know the Koreans. They are full of mystery when it comes to the Thomas Cup Finals. In the Thomas Cup qualifiers (in Vietnam in February), they fielded a singles player in the doubles. They always have tricks up their sleeves,” he said.

“It is good for us if they field an under-strength team. Then, we can beat them easily and achieve our target. But the tie could go down to the wire if they field their best.

“At the last Finals, Malaysia managed to win only one point (from the doubles) and it will be great if both the pairs can deliver this time.”

If both teams are at full strength in the singles, Chong Wei will face Park Sung-hwan. The second and third singles matches will pit Choong Hann against Lee Hyun-il and Hafiz against Shon Seung-mo respectively.

But Malaysia may rest Tan Fook-Wan Wah and field Kien Keat-Boon Heong at first doubles against against All-England champions Jung Jae-sung-Lee Yong-dae. The younger Malaysian pair will have the better chance to cope with the pace of the Koreans.

This option will give Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif-Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari a match against Lee Jae-jin-Hwang Ji-Man.

Results

>> THOMAS CUP

>GROUP A

China bt Nigeria 5-0: Lin Dan bt Greg Orobosa Okuonghea 21-6, 21-11; Bao Chunlai bt Akeem Ogunseye 21-9, 21-3, Chen Yu bt Jimkan Bulus 21-7, 21-6; Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng bt Okuonghea-Ogunseye 21-4, 21-3; He Hanbin-Shen Ye bt Bulus-Faghemi 21-8, 21-11.

Canada bt Nigeria 5-0: Bobby Milroy bt Greg Orobosa Okuanghea 21-19, 21-5; Stephen Wojcikiewicz bt Jinkam Ifraimu 21-8, 21-17; David Snider bt Olauluwa Faghemi 21-15, 21-19; William Milroy-Mike Beres bt Jinkam Ifraimu-Olauluwa Faghemi 21-16, 21-7; Toby Ng-Alvin Lau bt Greg Orobosa Okuanghea-Akeem Ogunseye 21-10, 21-11.

> GROUP B

Malaysia bt England 5-0: Lee Chong Wei bt Andrew Smith 21-17, 21-15, Choong Tan Fook-Lee Wan Wah bt Robert Adcock-Robin Middleton 21-19, 21-16; Wong Choong Hann bt Rajiv Ouseph 22-20, 21-16; Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong bt Christopher Adcock-Christopher Langridge 21-12, 21-12; Mohd Hafiz Hashim bt Ben Beckman 21-15, 21-14.

> GROUP C

Denmark bt New Zealand 5-0: Kenneth Jonassen bt John Moody 21-8, 21-13, Lars Paaske-Jonas Rasmussen bt Henry Tam-Nathan Hannam 21-9, 21-10; Peter Gade bt Joe Wu 21-4, 21-11; Jens Eriksen-Martin Lundgaard Hansen-Craig Cooper-John Moody 21-12, 21-12; Joachim Persson bt Kevin Dennerly 21-7, 21-5.

> GROUP D

Thailand bt Germany 3-2: Boonsak Ponsana bt Marc Zwiebler 21-17, 21-19; Sudket Prapakamol-Tesana Panvisavas lost to Ingo Kindervater-Kristof Hopp 20-22, 17-21; Poompat Sapkulchananert lost to Dieter Domke 21-12, 19-21, 16-21; Songphon Anugritayawon-Nuttaphon Narkthong bt Roman Spitko-Michael Fuchs 21-19, 23-21; Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk bt Marcel Reuter 21-14, 21-19.

Indonesia bt Thailand 3-2: Sony Dwi Kuncoro lost to Boonsak Ponsana 17-21, 15-21; Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan bt Tesana Panvisvas Nuttaphon Narkthong 21-11, 21-16; Taufik Hidayat lost to Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk 21-23, 18-21; Joko Riyadi-Hendra Gunawan bt Sudket Prapakamol-Songphon Anugritayawon 17-21, 21-8, 21-12; Simon Santoso bt Pakkawat Vilailak 21-11, 21-9.

>> UBER CUP

>GROUP W

China bt Usa 5-0: Xie Xingfang bt Eva Lee 21-10, 21-7; Gao Ling-Zhao Tingting bt Panitha Pongasavithas-Vimla Pongasavithas 21-5, 21-9; Lu Lan bt Chen Kuei Ya 21-5, 21-3; Yang Wei-Zhang Jiewen bt Eva Lee-Mesinee Mangkalakiri 21-5, 21-6; Zhu Lin bt Rena Wang 21-4, 21-8.

Germany bt Usa 5-0: Xu Huaiwen bt Lauren Todt 21-9, 21-6; Juliane Schenk bt Chen Kuei Ya 21-5, 21-5; Karin Schnaase bt Rena Wang 21-17, 21-5; Juliane Schenk-Kathrin Piotrowski bt Eva Lee-Mesinee Mangkalakiri 21-14, 21-13; Birgit Overzier-Michaela Peiffer bt Panita Phongasavithas-Vimla Phongasavithas 21-14, 21-15.

> GROUP X

South Korea bt South Africa 5-0: Hwang Hye-joun bt Kerry Lee Harrington 21-8, 21-7; Lee Yun-hwa bt Stacey Doubell 21-6, 21-4; Bae Youn-joo bt Annari Viljoen 21-6, 21-4; Lee Kyung-won-Lee Hyo-jung bt Michelle Edwards-Chantal Botts 21-7, 21-7; Kim Min-jung-Ha Jung-eun bt Viljoen-Jade Morgan 21-5, 21-6.

> GROUP Y

Malaysia bt New Zealand 5-0: Wong Mew Choo bt Rachel Hindley 21-18, 21-6; Lim Pek Siah-Ng Hui Lin bt Donna Kranston-Emma Rodgers 21-7, 21-16; Julia Wong bt Michelle Chan 21-18, 21-7; Wong Pei Tty-Chin Eei Hui bt Rachel Hindley-Renee Flavell 21-13, 21-14; Lydia Cheah bt Jessica Jongowisastro 21-11, 21-8.

Denmark bt New Zealand 4-1: Tine Rasmussen bt Rachel Hindley 21-9, 21-6; Mie Schjott Kristensen-Christinna Pedersen bt Renee Flavell-Danielle Barry 21-10, 21-8; Nanna Brosolat Jensen bt Michelle Chan 21-8, 12-21, 23-21; Helle Nielsen-Marie Ropke bt Donna Cranston-Emma Rodgers 21-12, 23-21; Camilla Sorensen lost to Jessica Jonggowisastro 17-21, 11-21.

> GROUP Z

Indonesia bt Japan 4-1: Maria Kristin lost to Eriko Hirose 21-9, 20-22, 20-22; Lilyana Natsir-Vita Marissa bt Satoko Suetsuna-Miyuki Maeda 9-21, 21-19, 21-14; Adrianti Firdasari bt Yu Hirayama 21-11, 20-22, 21-13; Greysia Polii-Jo Novita bt Shiota Reiko-Tomomi Matsuda 21-14, 21-18; Pia Zebadiah bt Kaori Mori 21-19, 21-17.

Article source:

TheStar News