Rashid Sidek tags Indonesia as dark horse in Thomas Cup Finals – Badminton Update
Singles coach of Malaysia Rashid Sidek believes Indonesia has potential to stun the hot favourite China in Thomas Cup finals as they have a splendid track record in this esteemed team event, which will be in full swing from May 20-27 in Wuhan.
The 2012 edition of Thomas Cup will feature super powers of badminton world like China, Korea, Denmark, Japan, Indonesia and Malaysia.
China has been awarded top seeding in this tournament and stands fair chances to hold the crown but Malaysian coach Rashid Sidek thinks it will not be a smooth road to victory as Indonesia may come in their way to glory.
He said, "China could prevail due to their balanced line-up but it will not be easy. The early battles in the group stage will give an indication as to how good the Indonesians are."
The Chinese Men’s Singles squad comprises reigning World and Olympic champion Lin Dan, World Number three Chen Long and Number four Chen Jin while Doubles flank will be covered by world class pairs like Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng and Chai Biao-Guo Zhendong.
However, the badminton guru Rashid predicted that despite having a star-studded squad they will receive tough competition from the Indonesian campaigners.
He said, "Except for Lin Dan, the rest of the players will have to battle hard against Indonesia who has won the Thomas Cup 13 times. With such a proud history, players like Taufik and their doubles can rise to the occasion."
Moreover, he also admitted that the Malaysian team will also have to stretch hard against Indonesia as they may face each other in quarter-final round after finishing group stage as winners.
Rashid said, "There is also a possibility of Malaysia meeting Indonesia in the quarter-finals and it will be a difficult battle for us too."
For the record, Malaysia has not won the Thomas Cup since 1992 and it has been also a decade since they reached the final back in 2002.
Meanwhile, China has dominated in previous four editions of this prestigious event and current form of its shuttlers make them hot favourites in the coming episode of this tournament as well.
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