According to recent results, Indonesia lost to Malaysia. On the paper, we can still say that,I think. BUt actually, I guess Indonesian spirit will be boosted if they meet Malaysia. Classic match ....
Indonesia is definitely an underdog against CHN, MAS and DEN. 3rd single - Simon can't be depend on. 2nd single - Sony does not seem like performed well in team event. 2 strong doubles, but to take 2-0 against the giant 3, some extra efforts needed!!! So, I would rank Indonesia in the 4th place in term of winner favorite; after CHN, MAS and DEN. CHN vs MAS: 10% go 5-0 or 0-5 30% go 4-1 or 1-4 60% go 3-2 or 2-3 eitherway
Agree with you. Although it pain me to say it, if nothing extra ordinary happen with Indo Thomas team (like suddenly Simon & Sonny started to believe at themselves that they can win when they meet China, Denmark or Malay team) my final prediction is: (despite whatever Indo strategy is) China VS Malaysia
Info: Indo and Malay Thomas team agree to have a friendly match in Indonesia before the final Thomas match in Japan begin. Malaysia cleverly didnot send LCW in their team. If in this try out Indo team win against Malay , the official will probably think to lost to Korea at the preliminary group. But if without LCW, Indo team lost to Malay, they will surely will fight 100% to win against Korea in the group.
judging by the line up, indonesia might not win this year. but for Indonesia fans, don't give up your hope and support. i'm positive that indonesi will once again dominate in a few years. i can see badminton back into trend nowadays. i see many badminton clubs are gaining so many new recruits now(at least in my town and around jawa timur). i see many good talents too. maybe we''ll have three taufik in a few years then we won't have to worry about losing first ms .
Indo can still make it, they got 4 matches to win 3 pts (2 singles, 2 doubles) except 3rd singles. Taufik must regain concentration and Sony must believe in his potential ... Malaysia also rode on the same formula to win 1992 Thomas Cup. At that time our 3rd singles cannot match other team's 3rd singles. A lot of people said Malaysia cannot win with banking on 4 matches. Also, at that time MAS doubles were in top form (except when playing Korea ...)
I feel Simon Santoso can never be underestimated. However, Indonesia does not have the luxury of choice in singles. It has to be Taufik, Sony and Simon. Malaysia and especially China have depth beyond the third singles (Chen Jin, Xia XZ, Kuan Beng Hong). But once again, I feel Simon cannot be underestimated.
I too agree that Simon cannot be discounted entirely! He may turn out to be Indonesia's saviour. It is such a shame that many of our Indonesian BF'ers have no confidence in him. Remember Simon has been exposed to many more internationals than before and he is learning from such experiences. He doesn't seem to be diffident himself, so Indonesian supporters must continue to cheer him if they want Simon to reward them!
Sorry to say that even without LCW, Malaysia still have the depth to beat Indonesia now. But Indonesia can't even afford to left out Taufik. This is the reality now. Our Yeoh Kay Bin also have the quality to beat Simon ... regret to say that.
maybe if the 3 MS play first, simon wiill perform better because the pressure not as much as being played as the last match when the score is 2-2
indonesia team unfortunetly, indonesia isn't in their best form this recent year. even we managed to scoped 2 tittle from WC, but we are not strong enough in team event. honestly i think malaysia has better chance this year. undoubtly they have more choices then we have. in singlesor doubles. well nothing to be ashamed of. we have to admit the reallity. we have taufik hidayat "the living legend". but under the new sytem i dont he will be that incredable anymore. if you see his game, he always make a lots of mistakes. but he is good on tactics. so with this new sytem which ask player to be perfect, and concentrate from the begining of the game wont be easy for taufik which always late on fire. cadra/sigit as top pair is getting older. they have really good deffense, but if they won to win againt other top pairs they have to increase their ability on attack, which will be difficult for them due to their age problem. speed will also make them weaker. but in MD we also managed to put at least 2 pairs on top 10 so i suppossed, we will managed that in 1 year.
Yes... Candre/sigit their speed and attack not as good as previously. but they are still in the top now, because nowadays lack of good MD. Danish pairs also getting old. The Korean & Malaysia MD youngsters not good enough either at the moment. As China.... I have no comment, because they are not producing great MD. Yesterday replay back the match between Yap/Cheah vs Ricky/Rexy .... wooow.... I cann see Ricky/Rexy really had the greatest speed, power, attack & defend. I believe if they still can perform like that time, no one can against them now.
Maybe the 3 of you are right, but I fail to see how Simon will pick up form in 2 months. I mean in this competition, the best tactical lineup is 1st singles for the best player (no choice), and 3rd singles for the most experienced (one who can rescue/win the tie). Notice previous Thomas Cup campaign's 3rd singles players, Joko Suprianto, Hendrawan, Xia Xuanze, Chen Hong, Icuk Sugiarto, Peter Rasmussen. 5 of them were world champions, and they were able to soak the pressure. Compare that against Simon, who is still up and coming. Of course we can understand the Indon's surprising lack of depth, normally a Malaysian problem ...
Yang Yang ( World champion 87 & 89 ) play as third singles in 1984 TC. Zhao Jian Hua ( world champion 91 ) 3rd single in 1988 & 1990 TC.
Agree with you. Sadly singles problem strated 2 years ago where Indo Thomas team that time also only depend on Taufik, Sonny and Simon as the singles players. The fourth singles that time, Wempie was not very good. That time PBSI promsed to improved the singles so we can grab the Thomas Cup back. But whan happen? Of course another sweet lies from the officials. We didn't produce any new fourth singles and Wempie retired from PBSI cause they don't send him to any events anymore. Not just that, PBSI only send Taufik to all the prestigious and big event in this 2 years where as Sonny and Simon only to be send playing fewer and smaller events. Is this the good strategy to have the Cup back? Believe me when I said, if we failed to hold the cup back, the same officials will give Indonesian badminton fans another sweet lies.
A friendly match cannot be judged as a prediction. That's only a warming-up practice. The mood is 100% different from the real " battle". Results of the friendly match will not affect the TC in Japan. Technically, top players are equal. But, the ability to come out of the pressure in "the Real SHowdown" will play a role. LCW knows exactly that his victories over Taufik (Malaysan Open 2005 and recent TC QUalifying Round) were not due to his superior performance over Taufik. Taufik LET LCW win purposefully. LCW knows this and he has never defeated Taufik when Taufik says no especially in important matches.
Indra, for being such a fantastic and loyal fan of Taufik, you deserve a medal from him. Have you taken a photo with Taufik yet and got his autograph? I took one with him, but it didn't come out nice, unfortunately. There wasn't enough light.
You're probably right! I'm a fan to all the world's greatest players and there are quite a number now, including Taufik. So very difficult to be a die-hard fan to anyone special. Actually it was during the SEA Games in Manila. I was watching him and Simon sparring at very close quarters during training. After training, when he was all dressed up and ready to go, I took a pic with him outside the training centre when it was quite dark. :crying:
No...:crying: . Sad....Poor... Actually, my current favorite players are Taufik and Lin Dan...I love the way they play the game 100%.