Friday, May 30, 2014

So Near yet so Far

It has been 5 days since the Thomas Cup Finals. Malaysia lost 2-3 to Japan. Should we be happy that we exceeded the target by reaching the finals or should we be sad that we should have won the title against Japan.

I was eagerly waiting for this match. I never sat down for 6 hours for a programme, but here I did for the patriotism.

There were even rumors, this could be his last Thomas cup. But he was really professional and proved he is the real world number 1 by the style of his play and also his professionalism on the court.

As expected, Datuk Lee got the 1st point in straight sets, although he looked nervous during the 2nd set.

Then came, the 1st doubles. Our strategy was to win 1 single and 2 doubles. When the 1set commence, our doubles looks powerful and the japanese looks really nervous. As expected, we won it. But when it comes to 2nd set, the blunder started, where silly mistakes were made and there were miscommunication between Hoo and Tan. Hoo's smashes were powerful, which totally eliminate the feeling that he is plump. They lost the 2nd set and when comes to 3rd set, they were close by 1 point but lost the game by 21-19, which was a heartdown for all the Malaysians.

Next match Chong wei feng shoulders the burden and he was against former world junior champion, momota. momota beat the Chinese and danish top en-route to finals. Momota proved his is too strong for wei feng and he is upcoming star for the Badminton world. Perhaps, if Datuk lee played against momota would have been a good match. Wei feng just look helpless and lost in straight sets.

The score is now 2-1. When Malaysians were almost loosing hope, Goh and Tan, came as savior by giving a gusti fight and winning the match in rubber sets. They really fight till the end and made the score 2-2.

Now Darren Liew, the captain shoulders the weight of the entire nation. He is lower ranked compared to Ueda, but their skills are almost the same. Only difference was Ueda was mentally prepared and I saw lacking on Darren. The 1st set, Darren was like a punching bag, but he showed a strong come back which nobody expected. Then it goes to rubber set.

Even YB KJ came down to the players seating and was really sporting to cheer and support the team. He was not even sitting on the chair but was standing for the last 2 sets. I doubt any other minister would do.

When comes to final set, looks like Darren was out of gas, he tried to attack but Ueda was strong and beat him by 21-17.

There goes the Thomas cup to land of sunrise for the 1st time. Now Japan joins the elite team, which also increases the expectation, as they will also contend for the championship, apart from China, Indonesia, Denmark, South Korea and Malaysia.

It took us 12 years to reach finals. Maybe it will take another 12 years to win the cup too. Having confidence in the doubles, singles is always a question mark.

  

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