ants
04-07-2004, 09:32 AM
PETALING JAYA: With the revival of seasoned singles campaigners Chen Hong and Xia Xuanze, China are showing signs that they will be out to mount a strong challenge to win the Thomas Cup in the Finals in Jakarta from May 7-16.
World number one Lin Dan chose to skip the just concluded Korean Open but China remained strong with Xia Xuanze and Chen Hong making it an all-Chinese final – eliminating South Korea’s Park Tae-sang and Malaysia’s Wong Choong Hann in the semi-finals respectively.
Xuanze beat Chen Hong for his first international title since winning the World Championships in Birmingham last August.
Until the Korean Open, Xuanze had not been able to display the form that made him world champion. He suffered a series of early-round exits, beginning with the Singapore Open last year.
In the All-England, a tournament he won twice – in 2000 and 2001 – Xuanze suffered a shock second-round defeat by Welshman Richard Vaughan.
The Korean Open may also mark a turning point for Chen Hong, who had fared poorly in international meets since winning the Malaysian Open title last year.
Chen Hong suffered unexpected defeats by Malaysia’s Roslin Hashim and Thailand’s Boonsak Ponsana in the Thomas Cup Asian Zone qualifiers in Kuala Lumpur in February.
With the two players back in form, China’s bid to wrest the Thomas Cup from Indonesia has received a big boost. The last time China won the Cup was in 1990 in Tokyo.
For the Finals in Jakarta this time, China are the top seeds and they have been drawn in Group A with Indonesia and the United States.
Group B has fourth seeds South Korea, Germany and New Zealand while third seeds Malaysia have been drawn in Group C with Thailand and South Africa. Group D has second seeds Denmark, Japan and England.
Malaysia’s singles head coach Misbun Sidek feels that China are looking stronger than ever.
“They have their current world number one Lin Dan. He is playing at a higher level than the rest of the field and it will take a supreme effort to beat him,” said Misbun.
“Chen Hong, who is now ranked second in the world, and Xuanze (who is ranked seventh) are their strongest bets to play at second and third singles in the Thomas Cup Finals.
“Chen Hong seems to have regained his confidence after the Thomas Cup qualifiers while Xuanze is also back at his best.”
Misbun added that China’s strength in challenging for the Cup was further boosted by two reliable doubles pairs – Sang Yang-Zheng Bo and Fu Haifeng-Cai Yun.
The two young pairs have one international Open title to their names. Haifeng-Cai Yun won the Swiss Open title last month while Sang Yang-Zheng Bo won the Indonesian Open last year.
Sang Yang-Zheng Bo missed out on a second title when they lost to Indonesia’s Luluk Hadiyanto-Alven Yulianto in the Korean Open on Sunday.
Haifeng-Cai Yun and Sang Yang-Zheng Bo are ranked third and seventh in the world respectively.
World number one Lin Dan chose to skip the just concluded Korean Open but China remained strong with Xia Xuanze and Chen Hong making it an all-Chinese final – eliminating South Korea’s Park Tae-sang and Malaysia’s Wong Choong Hann in the semi-finals respectively.
Xuanze beat Chen Hong for his first international title since winning the World Championships in Birmingham last August.
Until the Korean Open, Xuanze had not been able to display the form that made him world champion. He suffered a series of early-round exits, beginning with the Singapore Open last year.
In the All-England, a tournament he won twice – in 2000 and 2001 – Xuanze suffered a shock second-round defeat by Welshman Richard Vaughan.
The Korean Open may also mark a turning point for Chen Hong, who had fared poorly in international meets since winning the Malaysian Open title last year.
Chen Hong suffered unexpected defeats by Malaysia’s Roslin Hashim and Thailand’s Boonsak Ponsana in the Thomas Cup Asian Zone qualifiers in Kuala Lumpur in February.
With the two players back in form, China’s bid to wrest the Thomas Cup from Indonesia has received a big boost. The last time China won the Cup was in 1990 in Tokyo.
For the Finals in Jakarta this time, China are the top seeds and they have been drawn in Group A with Indonesia and the United States.
Group B has fourth seeds South Korea, Germany and New Zealand while third seeds Malaysia have been drawn in Group C with Thailand and South Africa. Group D has second seeds Denmark, Japan and England.
Malaysia’s singles head coach Misbun Sidek feels that China are looking stronger than ever.
“They have their current world number one Lin Dan. He is playing at a higher level than the rest of the field and it will take a supreme effort to beat him,” said Misbun.
“Chen Hong, who is now ranked second in the world, and Xuanze (who is ranked seventh) are their strongest bets to play at second and third singles in the Thomas Cup Finals.
“Chen Hong seems to have regained his confidence after the Thomas Cup qualifiers while Xuanze is also back at his best.”
Misbun added that China’s strength in challenging for the Cup was further boosted by two reliable doubles pairs – Sang Yang-Zheng Bo and Fu Haifeng-Cai Yun.
The two young pairs have one international Open title to their names. Haifeng-Cai Yun won the Swiss Open title last month while Sang Yang-Zheng Bo won the Indonesian Open last year.
Sang Yang-Zheng Bo missed out on a second title when they lost to Indonesia’s Luluk Hadiyanto-Alven Yulianto in the Korean Open on Sunday.
Haifeng-Cai Yun and Sang Yang-Zheng Bo are ranked third and seventh in the world respectively.