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Malaysia Boleh!
May 17, 2002 - Source : IBF
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Against all odds, the Malaysian Thomas Cup team defeated hosts China 3-1 yesterday in front of a silenced full house, winning their ticket to the final of the event.
 Malaysia Boleh! Malaysia Boleh! Only a small but noisy crowd was buzzing around the Malaysian players, celebrating what was to be the first really big upset of this Thomas Cup competition. Not many would have bet for a win for Indra Gunawan’s players against China in front of their home crowd.
Yet Wong Choong Hann, Hafiz Hashim and the two doubles pairs (pictured here gathering up after Lee and Choong’s victory) proved that they were ready for the event, and played magnificently to clinch a well-deserved final, even if the Chinese players also did very well. But the battle of nerves was won by the visitors.
The first match of the tie showed how conquering were the Malaysians: in spite of his very bad record against Xia Xuanze – he had never won in past matches – Wong Choong Hann did his best to set his team on the right tracks; but it was not enough as the world number one played some of his best badminton to win a match whose score reflects the harshness of the battle: 6/8 – 8/6 – 7/5 – 8/6.
Chan and Chew then got on court to provide Malaysia for their first point, against the scratch pair composed of Zhang Jun and Wang Wei.
“We were a bit surprised by the doubles line up, but I think they did the right thing because these pairs played much better than the usual ones,” said Indra Gunawan, Malaysian coach. The Chinese probably had in mind the quick defeat of Zhang/Zhang in the Japanlast month to Chew and Chan and tried a new composition. Yet in spite of a good game by the Chinese, Chan and Chew won in three games 7/4 – 7/5 – 7/2.
Hafiz brings Bao to his knees
At one-all in the tie, all eyes were turned towards Hafiz Hashim and Bao Chunlai, for the second men’s singles which was the crucial point in the tie. The Chinese had won their only previous meeting in the All England this year, in three games. But it was very different as it wasn’t a team match. And it wasn’t in front of his home crowd. What could have been an even bigger advantage to the tall Chinese (pictured here kneeling down) became a burden of pressure – a burden that he wasn’t able to handle in at key moments.
Both youngsters played very good badminton, no questions asked. A few mistakes on easy smashes showed what was at stake in this match, for two very young players to be put on such tremendous pressure – 19 years old for Bao, a few months older for Hafiz. Bao won easily the first game 7/1, then it was Hafiz’s turn to take the second 7/4. The third game was the turning point in the match, when Bao led 6/1 but was unable to finish. Hafiz‘s calm attitude contrasted with the one of his teammates on the bench, who could hardly stand still, shouting and clapping. His elder brother Roslin was going around in circles, with the Malaysian flag draped around his body.
Little by little the tall Malaysian got back to 6/6. Once again, the match was disrupted by a litigious call– once before, during Wong’s game, a line judge had been replaced. For the second time, the umpire called the Referee for a change. “I don’t think the line judges did it on purpose, but it was obvious that my players were distracted by some close calls,” said Gunawan after the match. A shuttle clearly out would have given a crucial game point to Hafiz, but it was called in. The young player tried to remain calm, and after the judge was replaced, he kept on fighting, to finally win the game 8/7, on a wrongful post-smash anticipation from Bao.
Once again, Bao Chunlai took control and accelerated the pace of the game to win the fourth 7/1, leaving the suspense at its peak, while the crowd was going crazy. The Chinese then took a comfortable lead 5/1 for what was supposed to be a logical victory, but his nerves broke down, and Hafiz‘s incredible defence shots made the difference. The Malayasian kept his spirit going until he got back 5/5, and on the third match point, he finally let go with his emotions, smashing in the air of joy (pictured), before joining his team mates, while Bao was going, head down, back to his side. “I was just told to leave the shuttle down to prevent him from attacking, and most of all, I tried to stay calm until the end” said a soft spoken Hafiz after his victory.
“We had decided to field up our young players, because we thought they would be our best chance against the Chinese line up we had expected in the singles. And we knew that Hafiz is very strong mentally and could make the difference against Bao Chunlai, against whom we thought he had 50/50 chances to win” said Indra Gunawan.
Choong and Lee bring it home
Hafiz‘s victory was the key to Malaysian success, as the second pair was expected to win their match against another new pair composed of Zhang Wei and Chen Qiqiu. But things weren’t so easy on court. Lee Wan Wah’s knee injury had put the team in some trouble for the preparation of the event, and Park Joo Bong had warned that he wouldn’t field the second best pair until it was on crucial matches to preserve Lee. This was the crucial point. Yet during the first two games, the few Malaysian spectators could hardly be heard as Zhang and Chen enflamed the whole stadium. Playing very fast, they were also helped by Lee Wan Wah’s numerous easy mistakes, and took a two games lead.
“We were very surprised by the Chinese team which was very strong. After the second game, we talked to each other about trying to relax more because we felt a lot of pressure. And then it was OK,” said Choong Tan Fook during the post match press conference in a Chinese with a very strong accent that rejoiced many Chinese journalists.
Indeed it was much better in the third and fourth games, won respectively 7/1 and 7/3. They got a scare in the fifth, led 1/3, but once again they got closer to the net and challenged their opponents on the fast drives and cross defences the Chinese were unable to read, scoring 6 points in a row. After more than an hour of play, the Malaysians were victorious, clinching the third point to get to the final of the Thomas Cup.
Along night for the Malaysians– probably echoed throughout the whole country – started by a long press conference, where Indra Gunawan gave his own translations to the questions asked in Bahasa into English or Chinese. “Now we have to concentrate on the final. Should it be Indonesia that we meet, we shall prepare ourselves to do better than in the group matches,” said Gunawan. “But it also could be Denmark” he added with a smile.
This question will be answered on Friday evening when Taufik’s partners take Europe’s last chance to win the event.
report and pictures by Raphael Sachetat
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Other news:
» Indonesian seniors, juniors advance to semifinals
» Chinese singles in good shape for Asian Games
» Sigit and Candra teach All England Champions a lesson
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