Chong Wei carries heavy burden in Finals
April 25th, 2008 | by Admin |PETALING JAYA: The best way for Malaysia to end their 16-year wait for the Thomas Cup is to nail the points in the first singles and two doubles.
This is where Malaysia’s strength lies based on the world rankings released yesterday.
Yesterday’s world rankings, released by the World Badminton Federation (BWF), will determine the order of play in the Finals.Realistically, only five nations – China, Indonesia, Denmark, Malaysia and South Korea – stand a chance to win the Cup.
At first singles, world No. 1 Lin Dan of China has placed himself as the favourite compared to Lee Chong Wei (Mas), Sony Dwi Kuncoro (Ina), Kenneth Jonassen (Den) and Park Sung-hwan (Kor).
Sony and Sung-hwan moved up as their countries’ top players based on their good showings in the Asian Badminton Championships (ABC) last week.
Thanks to Taufik Hidayat’s withdrawal, Sony’s semi-final appearance was enough to make him Indonesia’s top player while Sung-hwan dislodged Lee Hyun-il as South Korea’s No. 1 after winning the ABC title on Sunday.
Having beaten all his probable opponents, Chong Wei will be counted on to keep a clean record in the Finals but he will have to double his efforts if he is to give Malaysia a flying start in every tie.
It is difficult to hope for points in the second and third singles from either Wong Choong Hann or Mohd Hafiz Hashim.
At second singles, Choong Hann will find it tough against Taufik, Hyun-il, Peter Gade-Christensen (Den) and Bao Chunlai (Chn).
Source: thestar.com.my
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