ONLY three nations – Malaysia, Indonesia and China – have won the coveted Thomas Cup and it is unlikely the most prestigious team title in badminton will leave Asian shores when the 26th edition begins at the Putra Stadium tomorrow.
However, if there is one country that could rewrite Thomas Cup history and take the majestic silverware out of Asia, it has to be Denmark. The Scandinavian country have traditionally been Europe’s strongest power in a men’s badminton and they have probably named their strongest ever Thomas Cup team which is a blended of youth and experience.
World No 4 Peter-Gade Christensen leads the singles challenge with up and coming Jan O Jorgensen (ninth) together with Joachim Persson (24th), Denmark also sprang a surprise by naming their coach Kenneth Jonassen as the fourth singles player.
The Danes have two strong world class doubles pairs - world No 4 Mathias Boe-Carsten Morgensen and Jonas Rasmussen-Lars Paaske (sixth). Rasmussen-Paaske have been in great form of late, winning the All-England in March and the recent European Championships in Manchester. On both occasions they beat Boe-Morgensen.
In Christensen’s own words “we have a more balanced team and the young and the old are all very ‘hungry” to go one step further and win the Cup for the first time” – a clear message that Denmark don’t want to finish runners-up for the ninth time.
“Age may not be on our side but there is plenty of fire in us. Winning the All-England and the European Championships showed that we are capable of holding our own against the world’s best,” said Rasmussen.
Defending champions and top seeds China are the heavy favourites to retain the title they won in Jakarta two years ago with a 3-1 win over South Korea in the final – their seventh title
China will be counting on their ace Lin Dan to deliver. Lin Dan failed miserably in this year’s All-England and the Swiss Open but the three-time world champion came back strongly to nail the Asian Badminton Championships in New Delhi which pushed up his world rankings – ahead of Chen Jin (third).
Despite his dip in form, Lin Dan will make life difficult for his opponents in the Thomas Cup. As China’s number one, Lin Dan will be play a crucial for the Chinese who have named Chen Jin, Bao Chunlai and Chen Long as the other singles players.
China are also strong in the doubles former world number one Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng, Guo Zhengdong-Xu Chen and Chai Biao-Zhang Nan. Cai Yun-Haifeng, the All England champions last year, have dropped to No 8 in the world rankings while their best pair is Zhengdong-Xu Chen at No 5.
Malaysia, who have won the Thomas Cup five times, will bank on current World No 1 Lee Chong Wei. Malaysia’s second singles is 16th ranked veteran Wong Choong Hann while unpredictable Muhd Hafiz Hashi, a former All-England champion, is slotted for third singles. He is ranked 22nd in the world.
Malaysia have the top ranked men’s doubles pair in the world in Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong but their inconsistency and unpredictable form of late is a cause for concern.
The form of Malaysia’s second pair Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari-Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif has also taken a dip but coach Rexy Mainaky is confident that his charges will deliver in front of the home supporters.
Former Olympic and world champion Taufik Hidayat will lead Indonesia’s charge to regain the Cup they last won in 2002 with a 3-2 win over Malaysia in Guangzhou. Indonesia have won the Thomas Cup 13 times.
On his day, Taufik can beat anyone in the world although his stamina looks suspect. The second seeds also have strong singles players in Sony Dwi Kuncoro, Simon Santoso and newcomer Dyonisius Hayom Rambaka.
Indonesia have depth in doubles too. Their top pair is Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan, who are the third best pair in the world while Alven Yulianto-Hendra Gunawan are ranked seventh in the world..
The top two teams in their respective groups advance to the quarter-finals where a fresh draw will be conducted for the knockout stage.
On paper China and South Korea from Group A, Malaysia and Japan from Group B, Denmark from C (the other slot will be a battle between Germany and Poland), Indonesia and India from Group D should make the quarter-finals.
GROUP A: China, South Korea, Peru
GROUP B: Malaysia, Japan, Nigeria
GROUP C: Denmark, Germany, Poland
GROUP D: Indonesia, India, Australia.
Source : Thomas & Uber Cup 2010 Official Website
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