The Bitter Feeling of Loosing

I was watching the semi finals of the Thomas Cup with my brother and mom the other day between Malaysia and China, and I must tell you, what a bitter feeling it was to see Malaysia bowing out at the semis for the second time running.

It's been a while since I watched badminton. So my brother filled most of my gaps up.

In the first match, Lee Chong Wei (ranked world number 2) defeated the number one ranked Lin Dan with a straight set. After that win, I truly felt and believed that Malaysia could cause an upset by defeating badminton giants, China.


Owh, how was I proven wrong! The decision to field in two inconsistent players (Koo Kien Kiat/Tan Boong Heong) instead of the more experienced Chong Tan Fook/Lee Wan Wah proved costly as Malaysia was defeated in the 2nd match. Evergreen Wong Coon Han lost to Bao Chun Lai straight set in the third match.

What was amongst the proudest moment that evening was the victory of two Malays, the pair of Ahmad Zakry Latif/Fairuzizuan Tazari. They defeated China again, straight set. The final defining match saw Hafiz Hashim bow down to Chen Jin.

It was very upsetting to be frank. Not for once, Malaysia truly had the players and capability to win the semi tie. What went wrong, to my naive badminton knowledge, were the tactics deployed. They shouldn't field in Koo/Tan pair in the first place. Other than that, Hafiz Hashim seemed a fringe of the player who used to grace the All England i n 2003. Maybe age was a factor, but Hafiz really seemed low with confidence.

Well, try again Malaysia in 2010!