Skip to main content

Rashid dreaming of the final

NATIONAL singles chief coach Rashid Sidek believes Malaysia have a fighting chance of not only reaching the Sudirman Cup semi-finals but beyond that if they can avoid being drawn in the same half of the draw as defending champions China in the knockout stage of the mixed team event in Kuala Lumpur on May 19-26.

Malaysia, the third seeds,  received a favourable draw in the preliminary stage yesterday where they have Germany and Taiwan for company in Group C and the initial objective, said Rashid, is to finish as group winners and advance to the quarter-finals.

China, who should win Group A, also consisting Indonesia and India, should be in the top half of the knockout draw and Rashid's bold prediction will face a stern test if Malaysia are drawn in the bottom half.

"It is a good draw and  our immediate target is to win Group C and advance to the last eight as one of the top four teams. I still believe that Malaysia have a chance of making it to the final if we can avoid a meeting with China until the decider," said Rashid in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
"We cannot take Germany and Taiwan lightly as their women shuttlers are strong but I am confident we can pull through.

"In order to win both our matches, we must utilise Lee Chong Wei in the group stage to make sure our path is easier towards the semi-finals.

"The quarter-finals will not be easy as we may  face teams such as Indonesia, Thailand, South Korea, Denmark or Japan but we will be prepared.

"We simply don't have the depth to match China and if we are to fight for a place in the final for the first time, we must avoid them in the knockout stage."
Group B consists of  Thailand, South Korea and Hong Kong while Denmark, Japan and Singapore make up Group D.

National doubles coach Tan Kim Her was also relieved with the  group stage draw and he is banking on mixed doubles pair Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying to find their groove to help Malaysia achieve their best result in the Sudirman Cup.

"We should have no problem qualifying for the last eight but the  match against Taiwan will be tricky. We are strong in the men's singles and doubles while Taiwan are better in the women's events and Peng Soon-Liu Ying will have  the pressure  of pulling us through," said Kim Her.

"However, I am looking forward to the team  reaching the last eight as group winners as this will boost  confidence.

"We should avoid meeting China in the last eight by winning our group but there are other tough matches awaiting us in the knockout stage."

Malaysia's best achievement in the Sudirman Cup is reaching the semi-finals in Guangzhou in 2011 where they lost 3-1 to China.

Sudirman Cup Level 1 -- Group A: China, Indonesia, India: Group B: Thailand, South Korea, Hong Kong; Group C: Malaysia, Germany, Taiwan; Group D: Denmark, Japan, Singapore.

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