Rashid Sidek considers South Korea among the major contenders for Thomas Cup Finals – Badminton news
According to the views of Rashid Sidek, Malaysia’s Singles national coach, South Korea will be among the major contenders in the Thomas Cup Finals 2012, which are scheduled to kick off in China from May 20.
Korea has formidable strength in Men’s Doubles category where the World Number 2 Sung Jae Jung – Lee Yong Dae and World Number 4 Ko Sung Hyun – Yoo Yeon Seong will be contesting for glory.
Jae Sung and Yong Dae have been playing tremendous badminton for the last couple of years and have defeated the World Number One Fu Haifeng and Cai Yun of China on various occasions.
Sung Hyun and Yeon Seong have also been displaying wonderful show for the last one year and have got a respectable world ranking in Men’s Doubles category.
In the Men’s Singles category, Korea stands a good chance in the form of Shon Wan Ho, who has recently surprised everyone by winning the crown at India Open Super Series.
Wan Ho was just impressive on the final day of India Open when he unexpectedly shocked the World Number One Malaysian player Lee Chong Wei and took his first ever Super Series title.
In Thomas Cup, Wan Ho will be a player to watch as he gained confidence with his victory in India Open and will be putting in his maximum effort to earn glory for Korea.
While talking about the strength of Korea, Rashid said that they have wonderful players in this category.
He also said that Wan Ho will play a crucial role for Korea and can earn a point as he is in his prime form.
Rashid said, “South Korea are quite strong with their two doubles pairings and will be out to steal the second singles through Wan-ho, who is buoyed by his recent success.”
While talking about Malaysia’s prospects in the tournament, Rashid said that besides China and Korea, all other teams are almost equal and Malaysian shuttlers have a chance to reach into semi-final.
He said, “The standard of all the other teams is about the same and this opens up the chance for Malaysia to stay in the run for at least a place in the semi-finals.”
However, besides China, Korea will be second strongest team in Thomas Cup Finals because of having strength in Men’s Doubles.
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