HOST nations, without a doubt, take full advantage of their position to ensure that their team do well but sadly, Malaysia have not done much to boost their hopes of regaining the Thomas Cup.
The advantage of being hosts gives you a chance to practice at the tournament venue but Malaysia will only get the opportunity to train at Putra Stadium five days before the event begins on May 9.
It would have been ideal if the players had been training at the venue for at least three months as it would have given them the chance to adapt to the conditions.
Also, regular training at the venue will surely help newcomers like Tan Chun Seang and doubles pair Ong Soon Hock-Hoon Thien How to get used to playing at the venue which should have been their ‘home’, not Juara Stadium, which is their current training centre.
It is surprising the BA of Malaysia (BAM) didn't have the foresight to make an early effort to secure the venue’s booking to allow the Thomas and Uber Cup trainees to continue their preparation at Putra Stadium although the host’s job was awarded to Malaysia two years ago.
The simulation match, which was supposed to be held at Putra Stadium, instead had to be held at Juara Stadium yesterday after the tournament venue became unavailable, so the purpose of the whole exercise was defeated.
A simulation match must be held at the actual venue according to the schedule and with the presence of fans but it being held at a different venue just makes it another training session.
If the simulation match had been arranged earlier, even a strong opponent like Thailand could have been invited to play Malaysia and this would have given the players a real challenge.
Since Thailand didn't qualify for the Thomas Cup Finals, Malaysia would not have been at risk of exposing their strengths or weaknesses.
The other countries are expected to begin training at Putra Stadium as early as Wednesday which means Malaysia may have to compete for court time and any chance of having closed door training sessions is remote.
One of the main reasons behind the success of the 1992 Thomas Cup squad was that they trained at the venue for almost a year prior to the event and it practically became their home.
The players knew every nook and cranny of Stadium Negara and also mastered the stadium’s notorious draught.
That familiarity was part of the minor details BAM focused on then to achieve success and it worked but unfortunately, the current squad will not have any advantage despite playing at home. NST Boopathy
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