Skip to main content

Malaysia may have to pin Thomas Cup hopes on men’s doubles


PETALING JAYA: Malaysia may have to depend more on the men’s doubles in the Thomas Cup Finals following the lack of depth in the singles.
And based on the outcome of the Malaysian Open, the doubles department showed that the country could ride on their strength.
Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong underlined their status as the best in the country by nailing the title in their first tournament of the year.

In the absence of the national No. 1s from Indonesia, Denmark and China, Kien Keat-Boon Heong lived up to their top billing.
And two Malaysian national back-up pairs – Ong Soon Hock-Hoon Thien How and Mak Hee Chun-Tan Wee Kiong – showed that they can be groomed to become much stronger with breakthrough performances in the home Open last week.
Soon Hock-Thien How dumped the Korean Open champions Jung Jae-sung-Lee Yong-dae of South Korea in the opening round while Hee Chun-Wee Kiong upstaged veteran compatriots Choong Tan Fook-Lee Wan Wah.


Malaysia also have Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari-Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif and Lim Khim Wah-Chan Peng Soon in their ranks but both pairs fell short of expectations in Bulit Jalil.
Unlike the big pool of talent for men’s doubles, Malaysia’s only significant player in the men’s singles is Lee Chong Wei.
And based on the lack of depth, Malaysia have no choice but to win the two points from the doubles match and one in the singles in their bid to regain the world men’s team title they last won in 1992.
The Finals will be held at the Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil from May 9-16.
Currently, China have the most balanced side with strength in both the singles and doubles.
National doubles chief coach Rexy Mainaky was happy that several back-up pairs made their presence felt in the home Open.

“It was good to see Mak-Tan and Hoon-Ong coming through at the Malaysian Open. We hope that they will continue to do well,” he said.
“It is sad that Fairuzizuan and Zakry lost but there is time for us to work on their game and confidence.
“I am happy that we are not only focusing on the elite but our hard work to produce future players are also bearing fruit. We hope that our doubles players will be able to mount strong challenges in the Thomas Cup Finals.”



THE STAR

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Rajagobal Let Off The Hook

PETALING JAYA, April 24 (Bernama) -- National head coach Datuk K. Rajagobal was let off the hook by the Football Association of Malaysia's (FAM) Disciplinary Committee after finding no evidence that he had violated FAM's Article 88, as claimed. FAM Disciplinary Committee chairman Datuk Taufik Abdul Razak said the committee had decided not to charge Rajagobal after carefully analysing the video of the post-match press conference by the 56-year-old coach. "After listening to the recording of the post-match press conference, we decided to drop the charge against Rajagopal as he did not make such a statement. "Maybe his (Rajagobal) assessment and comments of the match was misconstrued by the media. There was no mention of the FAM policy throughout his comments," said Taufik after emerging from a three-hour Disciplinary Committee meeting at Wisma FAM in Kelana Jaya, here, Wednesday. Rajagobal who does not mince his words when asked to com...
4 comments
Read more

Atlet Tempuhi Empat Kejohanan Besar Sebelum Olimpik Rio 2016

KUALA LUMPUR, 31 Mei (Bernama) -- Empat temasya sukan penting yang dijadual berlangsung mulai Disember ini hingga 2015 menjadi medan persiapan atlet negara sebelum menghadapi cabaran Sukan Olimpik 2016 di Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, kata Menteri Belia dan Sukan, Khairy Jamaluddin Jumaati. Kejohanan berkenaan ialah Sukan SEA di Myanmar pada Disember, Sukan Asia 2014 di Incheon, Korea Selatan, Sukan Komanwel 2014 di Glasgow, Scotland dan Sukan SEA 2015 di Singapura. Bercakap kepada pemberita selepas melawat Majlis Sukan Negara (MSN) di Bukit Jalil di sini, Khairy berkata kesemua temasya sukan itu dilihat amat penting dalam memastikan impian negara untuk membawa pulang pingat emas Olimpik pertama menjadi kenyataan. "Kita di Kementerian Belia dan Sukan (KBS) mahupun MSN akan memastikan semua atlet mendapat bantuan sewajarnya dalam melakukan persiapan ke arah membawa pulang pingat emas pertama negara di Rio de Janeiro, Brazil nanti," katanya. Dalam perkemb...
6 comments
Read more

Uber Cub: Malaysian squad Can Spring A Surprise - Ahmad Shabery

KUALA LUMPUR, April 29 (Bernama) -- Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek remains confident that the national Uber Cup squad can spring a surprise when Malaysia hosts the Thomas and Uber Cup finals at the Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil from May 9-16. He said despite not being the favourite, the women's team was able to surprise everyone by winning the gold medal at the Laos SEA Games. "I am confident they (Uber Cup team) will be able to produce a similar surprise. Not only are they capable of reaching the semi-final, they can go further," he told reporters after having lunch with national shuttlers here Thursday. National badminton Team manager Datuk Syed Abu Bakar Abdullah who echoed the minister's confidence said: "In Laos, nobody expected the women's team to win the world, so why not the Uber Cup? All they need to do is try their very best." Women's team captain Wong Pei Tty said she and her team-mates have set a target of r...
1 comment
Read more