Thomas Cup : Malaysia beat Denmark 3-2 Thanks to Hafiz

Posted By Saimatkong on May 13, 2010 | 3 comments
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Okay, Malaysia is set to fight against China this coming Friday for the Thomas Cup Semi Finals! Stay tuned! I must say today all our Malaysia players is in much better form compared to yesterday and the 2nd double been replace with Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif / Thien How Hoon which showed better fighting spirit but their understanding of each other is not there as this was the 1st time they paired up~! Still good result and good fighting spirits!

It will be excited to watch China vs Malaysia in this Thomas Cup Semi Finals. The most awaited match will be Datuk Lee Chong Wei vs Lin Dan. Will Datuk Lee deliver our first point in this semi? Hopefully!

Koo Kien Keat & Tan Boon Heong in joy!

Jongensen [Denmark] bt Wong Choong Han [Malaysia] – Joy vs Sorrow

Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif / Hoon Thien How – They are the much better pair.

Hafiz Hashim – Hero of the night!

Thomas Cup Quarter Finals Result

Peter Hoeg Gade vs Chong Wei Lee : 17-21, 17-21 (49mins)
Carsten Mogensen / Mathias Boe vs Kean Keat Koo / Boon Heong Tan : 17-21, 19-21 (41mins)
Jorgensen vs Choong Han Wong : 22-20, 16-21, 21-18 (72 mins)
Lars Paaske / Jonas Rasmussen vs Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif / Thien How Hoon : 24-26, 21-12, 21-19 (74mins)
Joachim Persson vs Mohd Hafiz Hashim : 12-21, 10-21 (31mins)

Our girls lost in Uber Cup. Indonesia beat Malaysia 3-0. Wong Meow Choo did not deliver the crucial points and she apologized for her defeat. Our team could not go on to semi finals in Uber Cup.

*Images credits to ThomasUberKL2010

HAFIZ TURNS IT ON TO TAKE MALAYSIA INTO THE SEMIS

2010-05-12

KUALA LUMPUR (12 MAY 2010) – Muhd Hafiz Hashim, the 2003 All England champion, powered Malaysia into the Thomas Cup semi-finals with a thrilling 3-2 win over Denmark in the quarter-finals – setting off celebrations inside and outside the Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil.

Hafiz was the man of the hour – just when things looked bad for the Malaysians.

The Kelantan-born 28-year-old Hafiz tamed Denmark’s Joachim Persson 21-12, 21-10 in 31 minutes.

The ‘Mexican Wave’ which have been missing for quite sometime, was done several times by the home fans – to motivate the Malaysian players and the atmosphere was electrifying.

Just when Hafiz was to begin his press conference, team captain Datuk Lee Chong Wei came up to pass his mobile phone to Hafiz.

On the line was Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) patron Datin Paduka Seri Rosmah Mansor, wife of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib TunAbdul Razak, to congratulate Hafiz on his win and for taking Malaysia into the semis.

In the semi-finals tomorrow, Malaysia will be up against defending champions China.

In the other semi-final Indonesia, 3-0 winners over India in the quarter-finals, will meet Japan who stopped Germany 3-1.

“I cannot describe my feeling in securing the winning point to keep Malaysia in the tournament and a place in the semifinals,” said Hafiz, whose big smile spoke of the jubilation in the Malaysian camp.

It was an almost similar scene as it was yesterday – with Malaysia taking a pyschological 2-0 lead over Denmark – before they allowed their opponents to claw back into the game 2-2 going into the crucial third singles.

Chong Wei started the ball rolling when he beat Denmark’s veteran Peter-Gade Christensen 21-17, 21-17 in a 49 minute thriller. Kien Keat-Boon Heong stayed for a shorter period on the court in their 21-17, 21-19 win over Carsten Mogensen-Mathias Boe. The match lasted 41 minutes.

But Denmark reduced the deficit when 21-year-old Jan O Jorgensen outlasted Malaysia’s veteran Wong Choong Hann 22-20, 16-21, 21-18 which had the crowd on their feet during the 72 minutes they were on the court.

Malaysia sprang a surprise by naming a scratch pair – pairing Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif with Hoon Thien How for the second doubles. The Malaysia started well by winning the first set 26-24 but lost the next two 12-21, 19-21 in a 74 minute match.

The score stood at 2-2 and it was left to Hafiz to deliver.

And he did it in style. Hafiz turned out to be Malaysia’s hero while Persson, Denmark’s hero in Tokyo four years ago when he beat Kwan Beng Hong for the winning point in their 3-2 win over Malaysia, was left in tears.

The ending was different from the 3-2 loss they surrendered to Japan, where instead of the gloom, there celebrations all around the stadium which was packed with nearly 10,000 spectators.

The last time Malaysia won the Cup was in 1992 in Kuala Lumpur , beating Indonesia 3-2 in the final. Malaysia were runners up in 1994, 1998 and 2002, losing Indonesia on each occasion.

“I gave my best. I could have done any much more on a night when Hafiz played really well. He deserved the win. Four years ago I beat Beng Hong to take my team into the final. But I could not repeat this tonight,” said Persson.

Source : ThomasUberKL2010

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