Muhammad Hafiz Hashim wants to help Malaysia to earn glory at Thomas Cup Finals – Badminton news
Malaysia’s experienced player Muhammad Hafiz Hashim wants to help Malaysia to perform well and earn glory at Thomas Cup Finals, which will take place in Wuhan, China, in May.
Hafiz, who has been placed at number 32 in Men’s Singles world standings, did not participate in last week’s German Open Grand Prix Gold and will also skip the Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold, starting from March 13, to help Daren Liew to supersede him in world
rankings.
Daren is currently World Number 43 and is expected to get higher ranking as Hafiz is skipping tournaments for him to become country’s second best player after Lee Chong Wei, who is currently World Number One.
Hafiz is participating in All England Open Premier Super Series and will start his campaign today in the Men’s Singles qualifying round.
Because of his lower world rankings, Hafiz knows that he will not be able to qualify for the 2012 Olympic Games. So, he shifts his focus and wants to perform well at the Thomas Cup Finals.
He is country’s second highest ranked player in the world but wants to play the third Men’s Singles fight in Thomas Cup Finals.
For that purpose he is skipping tournaments to give a chance to Daren to take over the second position.
Hafiz said, "I can't qualify for the London Olympics and my priority is the Thomas Cup Finals. I can help Malaysia's cause as the third singles and this is the reason I withdrew from the German and Swiss Opens."
He further added, "By doing so, Liew Daren will get the opportunity to overtake me and become our second singles. We can have a solid start through Chong Wei and our doubles are playing well and as the third singles. I believe I can do a better job than
I did in Macau.”
A confident hafiz said that in the Thomas Cup Finals, only Korea will be a tough team to beat as they are strong in Men’s Doubles category.
For the rest of the world, Hafiz is optimistic that Malaysia can beat any opponent as no other country is stronger than Korea.
Hafiz has been working hard in training sessions to improve his physical fitness for the last couple of months and will resume it after the All England Open.
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