The other thread got blocked! I think this still is a very close setup. Malaysia is somewhat weaker with WCH injured, but Hafiz looks in very good shape. My guess: Denmark 3-2 Malaysia. Looking forward to this!
the other thread got locked because participant's attitude started to degrade as the thread progressed. i have renamed this thread that svp97 started to be the sole thread for the Denmark vs. Malaysia semi-final. please keep all discussions and live commenting here. and please be civilized in your discussion. otherwise : LINEUP: 2006 THOMAS CUP semi final DENMARK vs. MALAYSIA S1 GADE Peter vs LEE Chong Wei D1 LUNDGAARD HANSEN Martin/ERIKSEN Jen vs KOO Kien Keat/CHAN Chong Ming S2 JONASSEN Kenneth vs HASHIM Muhd Hafiz B D2 BOE Mathias/MOGENSEN Carsten vs CHOONG Tan Fook/LEE Wan Wah S3 PERSSON Joachim vs KUAN Beng Hong
There will be lots of pressure on Lee Chong Wei's shoulders. If he loses to Gade, all hope will be lost for the Malaysian Team. Go Lee Chong Wei!!! Lee 21:19, 20:22, 30:29 Gade. My predictions......
Malaysia can choose to sink or swim MAS has qualified for the semi finals and met their "target" (fake one I suspect). But their captain WCH is out thus jeopardizing their chances against Denmark. Will the MAS take their usual lacadaisical attitude and roll over or galvanize behind their fallen captain and take it to the Danes? At first glance, it would be easy to take the former route. Their excuse has already been gifted to them. "Oh, we tried our best but without Choong Han playing, we were always at a disadvantage" is probably what would be offered. On the other hand, they could just say to heck with them. Team MAS really found themselves yesterday, overcoming 2 major adversaties (CCM/KKK's horrible loss being the other). Things like these create defining moments and self belief. It's there for the players/coaches/staff to grab and run with it. It's finally time for team MAS to burn the "mentally weak" tag that has always plagued them. Rally behind the incident and let the team spirit carry them to the final. There anything could happen.
i agree. the MAS have gotten a bad name over the years for over hyping their expectations and underdelivering results. to make matter worse, when they do have good results, overcelebration often leads to overexpectation and then ethernal doom. however, fans and media also must realized that it is not only the team's fault, fans often have too high expectations of the team beforehand, and if they fail, they overly criticize them. the very prolific Malaysian media also fuels the fans with optimistic outlook and positive reporting. but as an outsider (ie. me being neutral towards Malaysia) we should see the media coverage as a positive aspect. informative reporting is a good thing, as long as it doesn't convey false amount of expectation and unrealistically positive predictions. despite the unfortunate injury of WCH. i too think the Malaysian boys should put all these talks behind their head, focus on the match, and play with all their hearts and skills. give badminton lovers like us a great spectacle. win with glory, or die in glory.
If I am Yap Kim Hock, I would swap the position between LCW and Hafiz. Reason being LCW has higher chance to steal a point from KJ (Den second singles). As for Hafiz, it is likely he will give the point away to either PG or KJ, so it does not matter who his opponent is. This will mess up Denmark's game plan and give Mal more options to play with.
hmm, they can't, cos i believe they are using IBF ranking pts. system to determine the order of play(if that's the case, then all the other teams will do the same, no??)...If LCW can take a pt from Gade, MAS just have to hope KKK/whoever his partner is can deliver and give them a point...If not, pressure on Hafiz to steal a pt... Boy, looking at the Danish's lineup, they sure are LOADED, except last MS..hehe
yes. that's correct. the ordering are not arbitrarily determined by the coaches. they have to obey the rankings. otherwise, it will be a chaos as all coaches will be trying to do the same.
I see....comparing players for each match side by side, MAL needs to perform exceptionally well and with lots of luck to beat the Danes !
Best chance for a MAS victory: LCW wins 1st Singles CTF/LWW wins 2nd Doubles KBH wins 3rd Singles Even if LCW loses to PG, Hafiz can overcome KJ. Team events always seem to bring the patriotic best out of Hafiz, so we cannot write him off yet. As for CCM/KKK, they'll really need to perform a MIRACLE (it's that word again ) to win their match. Could be 3-2 either way, too close to call
No no....this will take 2 hours. Lee 30:29, 29:30, 30:29 Gade. If this ever happens, the crowd will be glued to their seats and the winning team will jump up and down in celebration...
Again, an alternative will be to play CTF/LWW as first doubles and KKK/TBH as the second doubles. Will this increase the chance of winning at least 1 pt from doubles? After having watched CCM/KKK's performance yesterday afternoon, they are still pretty inconsistent as before, esp when facing the top pairs. They will have a hard time against Eriksen/Hansen, if they are still the first doubles.
Err, I think if MAS wins, it could be:- LCW wins 1st Singles MHH wins 2nd Singles KBH wins 3rd Singles If DEN wins, it could be:- KJ wins 2nd Singles MLH/JE or CM/MB wins 1st Doubles JR/LP or CM/MB wins 2nd Doubles DEN doubles is very strong (can choose between 3 good pairs). I think if it were 3-2, MAS would win on the strength and experience of 3rd Singles. Else DEN will win 3-1. DEN will be looking to wrapping up tie in the first 4 matches. And with WCH's injury MAS is the underdog. This is of course, assuming that the tie is played on SDSDS format.
Wow you guys are counting Gade out already? I feel that Gade is on top of his game lately. If Gade is able to beat Lin, who he has lost to the seven previous encounters, then I think he can take on LCW. With that say I am not too confident to say who will come out ahead as both are performing well lately. Lee Choong Wei is obviously has more speed and stamina in his game while Gade has more of experience on his hand. It will be an interesting match for sure. I am supporting Denmark to win since they would deliver more competition against China, granted that they [China] can overcome Indonesia in the final. Denmark has solid doubles so it'll all boils down to PG or KJ because I really doubt Joachim Person or Kaldau can beat China #3 men's singles.
I disagree with this. There is a high chance of losing both points in this case. If you expect the point to come from Choong/Lee, wouldn't it be better to play them against Denmark's second pairing? In fact, I am pretty confident that Choong/Lee can get a point. CCM/KKK may be inconsistent, but against Eriksen/Hansen, inconsistency may not be a bad thing. If you are consistent, then you will probably lose consistently to the world #1 pair. But if inconsistent, they could be inconsistent on the upper side. Plus, if you pit CCM/KKK against the top pair, the pressure is off CCM/KKK (especially if LCW beat Peter), and when the pressure if off, sometimes things can happen. We have only seen it occasionally, but CCM/KKK are quite capable of great achievement.
