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

Ex-coach's jail sentence cut to a year

PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal yesterday sentenced former athletics coach C. Ramanathan to 12 months' jail for molesting two junior athletes 19 years ago. A three-man bench led by Datuk Mohd Hishamudin Mohd Yunus unanimously dismissed Ramanathan's appeal against conviction, but varied the jail sentence of four years to a year, which was to run concurrently. Following yesterday's ruling, Ramanathan, 75, a former teacher, walked out a free man as he had served 10 months in Kajang Prison. Convicts get one-third remission for good behaviour while in prison. However, he will lose his pension. Hishamudin, who sat with Datuk Abdul Wahab Patail and Datuk Linton Albert, said the court found no merit to overturn the conviction. "However, in reducing the sentence, we considered Ramanathan's age and the long years the appeal has taken." Deputy public prosecutor Awang Armadajaya Awang Mahmud submitted that then High Court judge Tan Sri Abdull Hamid E...
2 comments
Read more

Govt Always Gives Emphasis To Sporting Culture, Says PM

KUALA TERENGGANU, May 29 (Bernama) -- Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badaw i said the government always gives emphasis on cultivating a strong sporting culture in achieving excellence at the international level. As such, the Prime Minister said, it was important to scout for young talents in sports. "I observe that the Malaysia Games (Sukma) has become one of the important platforms to do so. "In this arena, the potentials and skills of the youngsters can be identified for development so that they can achieve greater success in sports," he said in his message in the souvenir book of the 12th Sukma from May 31 until June 9. Abdullah said he was aware that competition in sports was very keen and challenging but this did not mean that Malaysian athletes were incapable of competing at the international level. "The fact is that we have all the characteristics required to be excellent. We must inculcate a strong fighting spirit so that we don't easily surrender,...
1 comment
Read more

Indonesia Choose Komodo Dragon As SEA Games Mascot

KUALA LUMPUR, April 26 (Bernama) -- Host for the 26th SEA Games, Indonesia has chosen the Komodo dragon as mascot for the 2011 Games which will be held in Jakarta and Palembang from Nov 11 to 25. The Indonesia SEA Games Organizing Committee (Inasoc), was qouted by Jakarta Post as saying that a pair of Komodo dragons, a male (Modo) and a female (Modi), were chosen in recognition of the Republic's conservation efforts to protect the dwindling number of the rare lizard. Modo and Modi were unveiled last night at a function in Jakarta, to mark the 200-day countdown before the games open on Nov 11 in Palembang. The Komodo dragons, the largest lizard in the world, only live on the Indonesian islands of Komodo in Flores, East Nusa Tenggara. On Jan 15, Inasoc unveiled its logo, a Garuda eagle, to symbolize the power and grandeur of Indonesia. Indonesia dominated the Games between 1977, when it first competed, and 1997, failing to top the medal charts only twice in that p...
1 comment
Read more