Narrow escape for Malaysia

Malaysia recorded a narrow win in the Thomas cup quarter final. Malaysia, seeded second in the tournament snatch the first point through World number two Lee Chong Wei. Chong Wei proved too tough for Lee Hyun Yil and the Korean went down in straight sets. Chong Wei had a very good record in the new 21 point game format and is seen as Malaysia's most reliable player in the tournament.

The first double from Malaysia, Koo Kien Keat and Chan Choong Meng however is shocked by the Koreans. The 21 year-old Kien Keat is particularly too confident in the court and led to disaster. Malaysia is expected to grab this point, however they slipped up. They conceeded a lot of unforced error that gave the Korean a comfortable lead in both sets. Though the Malaysian fightback from 16-20 in the second set to force a deuce, they still lost the game. The Malaysians should guard against complacency in future games should they are determined to win the tournament.

The match went in favoured to the Koreans when Malaysian second single Wong Choong Hann go down due to an injury. The Korean had a walkover just after 10 minutes the game had started. Choong Hann injury is a big blow to Malaysia as they only brought four single players to Tokyo. If Choong Hann couldn't recover in time, the inexperience Kuan Beng Hong will be given the responsibility to deliver the vital point in the third singles.

The Korean was leading 2-1 before the second doubles went down to court. Choong Tan Fook and Lee Wan Wah levelled the points when they beat the Korean second double in straight sets. Experience proved to be valuable on the court. The Koreans were rarely given an opportunity to fighback throughout the whole game.

In the final determining match, Hafiz Hashim is too strong for the young Korean. The Korean failed to return most of the powerful smashes from Hafiz and couldn't follow Hafiz's tempo. The game ended in style as Hafiz cruised to a straight set win and put Malaysia in the Semi-final.

Though many had predicted Malaysia to win, few would predict that it go into the last game(third single). Malaysia will face Denmark in the Semis. While China will play Indonesia in the other half. With Choong Hann down to injury, the odds are definitely against Malaysia. Let's keep our fingers crossed that some miracle happen!