Great Balls Of Fire! S.S. Dhaliwal in Jakarta NSTP emedia Send to a friend | Printable Page CHINESE coach Li Yongbo has been feeling good ever since he arrived in Jakarta and the vibes are growing stronger as the Thomas Cup final approaches. He is aware only one hurdle separates China from winning the coveted Thomas Cup after the 3-0 whitewash of South Korea. But while the win was a foregone conclusion, the manner in which they achieved it brought a smile to the normally stern Yongbo. “Honestly, I did not expect to win 3-0 as I had thought it would go down to the wire with us going through with a 3-2 win,” he said. “The Koreans have two solid doubles combinations although we have the edge in singles. “But Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng played above themselves to beat the Koreans in the first doubles. “That gave us the confidence to romp home. This augurs well in our quest to win the Cup.” Yongbo added his players are capable of matching the best in the world but his problem was to get them to stay focused. “It has been a long time since we last laid our hands on the trophy and we are desperate to win it,” he said. “The players’ solid displays in the semi-finals have given me the confidence this could be the year to end our drought. “The last time we lifted the Cup was 14 years ago.” China were given a jolt in the opening singles when South Korea’s Lee Hyun II raced to a 8-0 lead over Lin Dan in the first singles. However the 21-year-old Chinese came back strongly and once he did his customary salute after beating his opponent, that signaled the Koreans’ downfall. Even Kim Dong Moon-Lee Dong Soo were unable to stop Chinese youngsters Fu Haifeng-Cai Yun from winning the first doubles. Bao Chunlai was in his element as he destroyed whatever hope Korea had by defeating Shon Seung Mo in the second singles to book the final date.
Hmm... some firey words to keep his team motivated. I'll have to agree with LYB in that his team is full of young stars, and well... it may be hard to keep their heads focussed especially with all the attention they are getting.
- Most veterans say that Ina failed in this Thomas Cup because the public expected too much of them and they could not handle the pressure. Same thing happened in China in 2002. Seems players will lose if they get impatient whatever their ranking.
