Rashid Sidek is optimistic for better results in the Thomas Cup Finals – Badminton news
Malaysia’s Men’s Singles national coach, Rashid Sidek is quite optimistic for a better performance from Malaysian shuttlers in the Thomas Cup Finals considering that they have done well in the Thomas Cup Preliminary Round that ended on Sunday, February 19, in Macau.
The Thomas Cup Finals will take place from May 20-27, in Wuhan, China.
The coach thinks that besides China, there is no other team that is unbeatable at the moment and if Malaysian shuttlers show commitment in training sessions, they surely can make the cut by reaching in the semi-final of the tournament.
Rashid is satisfied with the performance of Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong, who are World Number Six at the moment. The duo put up superb show of elevated game and won all of their battles in the Preliminary Round.
The World Number One Lee Chong Wei, who delivered an expected performance in the qualifying matches, is supposed to give a good start again in the Finals by winning his opening Men’s Singles fight.
According to the coach, if Kien Keat – Boon Heong also deliver a point, then it will not be difficult for Malaysia to push any team on the back foot.
Nevertheless, Malaysia’s second and third singles are not competitive and both Muhammad Hafiz Hashim and Daren Liew need to be at their best which will help Malaysia to achieve a good result in the Finals.
Rashid said, "The improvement by the doubles has given us hope again. We can look forward to the Thomas Cup Finals with more confidence now as our team will be better prepared in the three months."
He further added, "But our main concern is still the second and third singles where Daren or Hafiz must also improve. Daren has shown maturity and played with quality but he must keep improving. If he can build his world ranking and move above Hafiz, the latter will be a good bet as the third singles.”
However, the coach wants all shuttlers to remain in good faith and put their maximum effort in training sessions which will help them to reach on a different level of badminton and they will live up to the expectations in the Thomas Cup Finals.
Tags: