Hi to everyone again, The stage is set for a showdown this Sunday between Malaysia and Indo. From today's performance, Indonesia looks strong to have beaten Thailand 5-0. Thais have some world class players, yet Indo still waltzed through despite some resistance in the 2nd and 3rd singles. This shows the true strength of Indo...the ability to recover. I am rather worried for my home country Malaysia, as their forte for mental strength has been lacking recently. On paper, the rankings speak a different story, but against a spirited and powerful opponent like Indonesia, the rankings can be thrown out of the window for all they care. A bit of history after KL 1992....(it was just plain crap from 1976-1986, known as the age of darkness for Malaysian Badminton): I remember from 1988 to 1990 Malaysian players were not considered to be truly world class, but when it came to team events, the score against Indo was always 3-2 in Malaysia's favour. This led to the eventual victory of the 1992 thomas cup for Malaysia, which then led to a massive fall in standard as the core 1992 group of players were spoilt and lost the desire to win. The rot manifested itself slowly, and Malaysian badminton went through a series of ups and downs (probably more downs), and all this built up to the farce that was the 2000 thomas cup in KL. The nation was shocked to see how far we have fallen, and how much was needed to be done. A few heads rolled after that, but fortunately, the finger pointing was kept to a minimum. Work started immediately to cultivate young and promising players which coach Morten Frost have identified during his stint in Malaysia (we have a lot to thank Frost for the current batch of players actually, he was the bright spark in Malaysian badminton during the troubled years after 1992). Park Joo Bong and Indra were ropped in to mop up the mess as Frost left angry and disappointed with some officials who thought they knew better than him. Misbun Sidek is also another person that have brought a breath of fresh air into Malaysian Badminton, he was a notable player during his time, but as a coach, he seems to have a certain quality about him that is different to other coaches. His methods are unorthodox to say the least, but not in anyway obstructing or hindering the revival of Malaysian badminton. Presently... Malaysia have roughly 5 - 7 singles players to count on for international meets, with quite a few coming through in the next few years. Doubles standard have improved somewhat (after the departure of Sidek bros and SoonKit/BengKiang/KimHock), due mainly to Park Joo Bong's tutelage. With this array of players in place, we might stand a chance against the mighty Indonesias, we just might. However, the thought of facing the Indonesians each time sends a shiver down my spine, a shiver of anticipation and hope, and a hope that things would be different this time around...may the better team wins. Meanwhile... Lets watch the fireworks fly between Denmark and China on Saturday. I can feel the tension boiling for this one already.
