Malaysia give gutsy display against China

Discussion in 'Thomas/Uber Cups 2004' started by ants, Feb 22, 2004.

  1. ants

    ants Regular Member

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    BY RAJES PAUL
    KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia were beaten 2-3 but their fighting performances in the final of the Thomas Cup Asian Zone qualifying tournament certainly gained them the respect from the top seeded China at the Kuala Lumpur Badminton Stadium in Cheras here yesterday.

    To underline the respect, world number two Lin Dan saluted his lesser experience opponent, Lee Chong Wei, after hauling himself back from the brink of defeat to win the second singles match 3-15, 15-13, 15-6 to put China 2-1 up.

    Malaysia fielded a surprise line-up while China opted to play at full strength.

    National number one Wong Choong Hann, who suffered muscle spasms on his lower back, was rested and Mohd Roslin moved up to spearhead the Malaysian challenge.

    And the 29-year-old Roslin gave the team a rousing start with a 15-7, 17-15 win over Chen Hong, who came into the tournament as the world number one but has dropped to third spot in the latest rankings.

    The scratch pair of Lee Wan Wah-Chew Choon Eng also came up tops in the second doubles to even the score at 2-2, beating world number nine and Indonesian Open champions Sang Yang-Zheng Bo convincingly at 15-6, 15-12.

    The 21-year-old Kuan Beng Hong, who is in the national senior squad for the first time, came in for the deciding match against the more experienced Bao Chunlai. He went down 4-15, 9-15 and Malaysia surrender the tie to China in a battle that took almost five hours.

    Malaysia also lost the first doubles match with young debutants Koo Kien Keat-Gan Teik Chai finding themselves no match for world number five Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng, losing 7-15, 7-15.


    Lee Chong Wai
    National singles chief coach Misbun Sidek said: “Although we were not at full strength, we managed to take the fight to China and it shook them.

    “Roslin was in total control of his game. And Chong Wei staged a remarkable comeback even though he trailed 5-13 in the second game but he muffed up a good chance to seal the match. The lack of experience showed up in Beng Hong's performance.”

    For Roslin, it was only his second win over Chen Hong in 10 meetings. The last time he emerged as the winner was six years ago in the Malaysian Open.

    In fact, Roslin has never beaten a Chinese player since his win over Xia Xuanze in the 2001 All-England.

    “Based on my poor record against Chinese players, I did not expect to be fielded today. And I finally managed to bring down the great wall of China,” said a delighted Roslin, who felt that he played his best match since plunging into a slump after he became the world number one in 2001.


    ZHONG BO:'Malaysia will be a strong team in the Finals.'
    “Chen Hong could have under-estimated me based on my poor record against him. I trailed 11-14 (in the second game) but I did not give up. Beating him for valuable ranking points towards Olympic qualification was on my mind. I fought back and pulled through. It's a fantastic feeling.”

    Chong Wei held Lin Dan by the throat when he drew level at 13-all but he could not seal the match.

    “I made mistakes and all my efforts were in vain. My coach (Misbun) walked out of the stadium when I was trailing 0-3 in the rubber game and I gave up. He had no confidence in me and I just could not play on after that,” said Chong Wei, who was in tears after the defeat.

    Wan Wah-Choon Eng left their opponents in a daze and national doubles chief coach Yap Kim Hock said: “They won because of their fast attacking game and their experience. They caught their opponents by surprise when they attacked relentlessly. I am glad they contributed a point.”

    China's singles coach Zhong Bo paid tribute to Malaysia for giving a gutsy display.

    “Malaysia will be a strong team in the Thomas Cup Finals,” he said.

    “Roslin was very steady today and I am impressed with your young player, Chong Wei. Some of our players lacked the fighting spirit. Our target was to emerge as the Asian Zone champions and I am glad we did it.”

    The Finals will be played in Jakarta from May 7-16. Besides China and Malaysia, the other qualifiers from the Asian Zone are South Korea, Japan and Thailand.

    At the last Finals in Guangzhou, Malaysia defeated China in the semi-finals and went on to finish as the runners-up to Indonesia.
     

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