Malaysia nails South Korea to pave path for Thomas Cup quarter-finals – Badminton news
Malaysia nailed South Korea yesterday to pave their path for the quarter-finals by toping Group D in Thomas Cup Asian Zone qualifying round in Macau.
The maestro Lee Chong Wei set the foundation but the Doubles teams, Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong and Lim Khim Wah-Goh V Shem stole the lime light with their surprisingly superb performance against Korean pairs to establish a 3-2 victory.
By competing against relatively lower-ranked India in the semi-finals today, Malaysia has fair chances of securing a berth in the Thomas Cup Finals to be held in Wuhan, China. Apparently, South Korea is not bothered with the set back as they still are one
of the top two teams in the group.
World Number One Lee Chong Wei lived up to expectations as he defeated Lee Hyun-il with a convincing 21-13 and 21-15 win.
All eyes were on Kien Keat-Boon Heong as they had lost all their six previous encounters with the Koreans, but the duo stunned the World Number four pair of Ko Sung Hyun-Yoo Yeon Seong with a decisive score of 21-14 and 21-19 to give Malaysia a 2-0 lead.
Korea did not allow Malaysia to oust them so easily and Korean shuttler Shon Wan Ho won the singles match against Mohd Hafiz Hashim with a 24-22 and 21-16 score.
After losing such a crucial match, Hafiz said, “I was just plain unlucky. I had the first game in my hand but let it slip just like that. I am upset with myself.”
Malaysia was hoping that their third Singles player Mohd Arif Abdul Latif would nail down his Korean challenger Hong Ji Hoon, but he failed to rise from the dust. Hong Ji won the match by a score of 21-17 and 21-15.
Malaysian duo Khim Wah-V Shem spoiled the Korean party unexpectedly and snatched the game with a nail biting 18-21, 21-19 and 21-11 victory over Lee Yong Dae-Shin Baek Cheol.
Malaysian National doubles chief coach Tan Kim Her said, “Our victory today comes down to excellent team work. Koo and Tan’s win over their nemesis should give them a lot of confidence. I am happy that Khim Wah-V Shem also played a fantastic match to upset
the Koreans. They did not give up despite losing the opening game but continued to pressure the Koreans. Their performances augurs well for the future.”
The coach was jubilant at his Doubles’ team performance as a lot of video analysis and the decision of playing with the original line-up worked in their favour.
Tags: