Malaysia's Thomas Cup (Mis)adventure

Malaysia's match against Denmark last night, broadcasted live on TV2. It was...

So exciting and thrilling!

So fast-paced and heart pounding!

So proud and happy to see the Malaysian supporters in Japan!

So glad to hear them cheer out loud for the team!


And yet...

So heartbroken when the team lost the tie 2-3.

So disappointed that we could've actually won and gotten into the finals.

So annoyed that the Badminton Association of Malaysia could've fielded a stronger team.


Malaysia's bad streak of its national team in tournaments continues, when and where it'll end no one knows. First the Malaysian men's hockey team failed to qualify for the Hockey World Cup even though they were the bronze medalists of the Melbourne Commonwealth Games. That was a tremendous disappointment seriously.

Then it was the recently concluded (for Malaysia) badminton Thomas Cup championships. Despite boasting one of the largest contingents which included an entire sparring team, physical trainers, a nutritionist, sports analysts, a psychologist and masseurs, which raised the eyebrows of the other teams, we still came back empty handed for the seventh time in a row!

Really am doubtful towards BAM's preparations towards the tournament, were they so confident of their singles lineup that they chose Kuan Beng Hong as the fourth singles shuttler? Including Kuan there was a gamble itself, and sadly it didn't pay off well. No offence intended though. And well, in the second singles Hafiz Hashim could've killed off Kenneth Jonassen after taking a one-set lead, and Malaysia would've likely ended up with a 3-1 scoreline and a ticket to the finals instead of a 2-3 loss. Too bad I missed watching the first singles and doubles matches though. Turned on the TV and it was the Hafiz-Jonassen match already there.

That's enough bashing about the players who lost. To be honest I think Lady Luck just wasn't with the team. Captain Wong Choong Hann's injury to his Achilles tendon was just plain bad luck, and even if the team managed to scrape through last night's match with all of their effort, I'm sort of doubtful if they have enough energy to face China's team.

Well overall, it was still a good effort from the team there. The doubles pairs did well against the odds to beat their Danish opponents, and the singles did their job throughout the tournament. The shuttlecocks were blazing fast and furious, definitely a very quick match in terms of playing.

Next time then Malaysia, and prepare well for 2008 edition! 8th time's the charm!


Technorati tags: Malaysia, badminton, Thomas Cup