In my opinion China is favourite. But i would rate the other 4 powerhouses Denmark, Malaysia, Indonesia and Korea to have almost equal chances. Indonesia is very strong in their MD with Candra/halim and Flandi/Eng, but in my opinion both has to win if they want to win the match against the 4 other nations. Because Indonesia's MS isnt as strong as the other nations, perhaps if Taufik was at former strengh but he isnt. Malaysia is perhaps the weakest of the 5. They have Wong Choong Hann as their star and Choong/Lee as a strong pair in the doubles, but the remaining players are either noy good enough or to inconstant. Korea is a balanced team with Kim/Ha as stars and Yoo/lee as another superstar pair. Lee is a good card to have in single and Shon and Park are also top 20 single class. Perhaps Shon isnt as good as his ranking shows. Perhaps Korea is the team who has the biggest chance to beat China, because of their doubles and Lee who have beaten the chinese armada once before in this years Surdinam Cup. My vote will go to Korea if they meet China in the final. Denmark is a very strange team. One time they are almost unbeatable the other they can lose very easily. Denmark are strong in the doubles with the world Champions Lars/Jonas and the Sunrise Singapore champions Jens/martin, but Jens/martin are very inconstant sometimes. On the single site they lack a bit. Peter showed us that he perhaps is back with his latest result in China. Jonassen hasn't showed the play he did earlier this year after the WC and Anders Boesen is in my opinion overrated. But surely ypu should count Denmark as favourites if Gade is back on track... China is the favourite but in my opinion not HOT favourite. They are very strong in MS. But every team has a strong 1 single in Lee,Wong,Gade/Jonassen,Sony and they can defeat on the chinese players. In my opinion China has to win at least 2 singles if they have to win the Thomas Cup becuase their double pairs dont have the experience and needs the last step to be world class players. But still China can win just look at their single players Xia, Chen, Bao and Lin Dan...Impressive
China will still be the favourites. But playing in Jakarta would be different. Most Chinese fall when they play in Indonesia. Home ground is certainly give the upperhand to Indonesia although they are weaker this year. Anyway my Bets will be the top 3. China, Malaysia and Indonesia. Hopefully the Malaysia team will be able to got to the finals , consistency is their problem.
Smash and Loh, I think it is not the Indo's tactics to put Taufik to the 3rd place. Now Taufik is not trained by Joko in Pelatnas (National Training Centre), but he is trained by a coach from his club in Bandung. He moved out from Pelatnas since he won Indonesia Open after 'crash' with national single coach Joko. Since he moved, his performance fell down. For me, Indonesia still favorite to win the TC-2004, beside China. Like all of you has said, playing in Jakarta for visiter is like playing in 'hell'. I think the Indonesia team will be like this : 1. Sonny 2. Taufik 3. Simon 4. Candera/Halim 5. Flandi/Eng
Also bear in mind that INA second stringer had beaten MAS's first to win the SEAG team gold medal (Sony beat Wong twice)
Yes. but don't forget that before this, Choong Hann had beaten Sony thrice consecutively! And at the recently concluded Copenhagen Masters, Choong Hann emerged champion beating the likes of Taufik, Gade and Jonassen. You would agree, these are no mean opponents, especially defeating the Danes on their own soil and in front of their own fans! Granted Candra Wijaya and Halim Haryanto also did well to take the men's doubles crown by beating the young and impressive Danish pair of Lars Paaske and Jonas Rasmussen, 15-11;15-4. If Candra and Halim continue to blend well, they will most likely score a point for Indonesia at the TC. But, of course, the Copenhagen Masters Invitation is not a very representative international. Because of the nature of the event, not the world's best are represented, but it is still world-class. As I have said, it is still a few months more before the TC in Jakarta and anything can happen, even during the competitions. You bet the contending countries are making serious preparations to peak their players at the right time, but even then their form on the day may be disappointing. The TC represents world badminton team supremacy for one's country, an honour not to be missed! As for Indonesia's final line-up, I think jkusmanto's prediction may come true. Unless they decide to field Sigit and his new partner to displace the veteran pair of Flandy/Eng Hian. It depends on how both these pairs shape up towards TC deadline. IBF may not agree to Taufik being ranked third singles. Not sure about the exact rules but I thought participating countries have to submit their players' list based on current rankings. How they do this is another matter.
It's very true the home crowd will hype up the players. But don't forget it will bring up the un-necessary pressure at the same time, especially if INA did not do well in early match ups. The problem for INA is, none of them are superior (besides Taufik @ home). Their 2 other MS and newly formed 2 MD pairs still need some time to prove they could perform well (against top of the top elites from other nations) in a more consistant basis. Really wonder if they can still capture the cup if they happen to lose a "secured" (as they thought, i.e. lose a MD to CHN or lose a MS to KOR) point earlier in the match or not.
Although Indonesia looks formidable at home, I would dearly like to see Denmark or Korea winning the Thomas Cup, as this will be good for the game. Indonesia, China and Malaysia are the only select group to have won in the past 55 years. This is a long time. We need new blood, and the status quo is not necessarily good for the future of the game. Denmark was nearly there a few times but stumbled when it counted. What about the US? Some of you may not know, the US west coast was pretty strong in badminton at one time, strong enough to enter the finals of the 1952 Thomas Cup. No, this is not a tall story!
I share your sentiment, Taneepak... but such is the state of affairs in North America that badminton has made little gains in captivating anybody other than those already playing the sport-- mostly Asian immigrants and second-third generations families who immigrated to N.A. As a result, not as much investment in the sport as badminton playing Asian countries. Badminton need to be in the primetime... NBC had better not screw it up, otherwise the sport will not grow as much. You get what you invested... and China is reaping the rewards now after years of creating an effective system of churning out champions. They have the resource and the methods down pat. It'll probably take a miracle to even deny China most... if not all... of the top spots. If any minor power country is gonna succeed marginally in this sport, they'll need to look to China, entice some of the talent (especially coaches) over and integrate them into their own system (hopefully with the requisite investment and participation). But it won't happen in the near future given the present situation.
Indonesia is quite crafty with this and have done this in the past, Taufik not playing in many GP's thus ranking dropping and playing him down the order. Must say wasn't very effective in 2002.
I understand ur feeling. However, whether a sport is going to grow, and let the minor powerhouse (even the current no name ones) to play catch up, is NOT to give them favorite, but down to the fact whether they want to try or not. A good example is basketball. In 1992, Dream Team I trashed every other team by average of 30+ points. In the following yrs, Dream Team II, III, etc continue to dominate in big events such as WC or Olympics. Many ppl predicated, that no one can match NBA in the next 50 yrs. So, should everyone just give up, and complain the game is no fun no more? NO!!! Many teams trained hard, and greatly improved. They reduced teh gap in between by huge margin. Then, finally, after the self destruction, Dream Team got beat up badly in 2002. They lost 3 of the last 4 games. Therefore, to be good in a sport, we need to put effort in. Just sit back, and talking about whether the others are too weak or too strong to play with, but don't put into any effort, will be even worse for the game itself.
Denmark have never won Thomas Cup before, and they normally do not play good in Jakarta, it's too hot. Korea are getting stronger in singles, but I'm not sure if they can win the Cup. Malaysia have a chance this time, but I would think Indonesia and China would meet in the final. If that's the case, strategy would play the role.
Do count the danes in as they have 2 world class pairs in MD. In my opinion they have a big chance of getting at least 1 point in MD in every match and with a Gade near his peak who never has lost a single in thomas Cup, Denmark looks strong. But I still think China is the hot favourite this year.
My heart says Indonesia but my head says China.. And all I can say is, may the team which display their best badminton skills, with the best team spirit win!! And I pray that it will be Indonesia!!
I say it all depends on the form of the day. Take Malaysia (cause among all, I know the team the most) for instance. On his day, Wong CH can be the best player in the world. But he can also be a second-class player just as easily. (out against Lin Dan, Lee Hyun Il, Peter Gade, Sony) Lee CW, as second or third singles, can be extremely hard to beat if he's not up to his Ong Ewe Hock antics. Roslin can draw any opponent to long rallies and gradually wear them out. Formidable as the third string. Whenever Choong/Lee play against the top pairs of the world, I always get the feeling that they can get an upset, and half the time, they do. They have the capability. But when they play against some not-so-top pairs, I sometimes also have the sinking feeling that they will be beaten, and sometimes they do. They have the weakness. So ... Chan/Chew should have easily been the top 10 pairs in the world, and the fact that they are not is certainly a waste on such a talent as Chan. Who knows, maybe the Thomas Cup is their return to top flight. In summary, if every member of the Malaysian team plays to his best (and their best opponents co-incidentally also suffer some loss of confidence), then Malaysia can win it. We can say about the same about the other 4 great teams in the Thomas Cup. It may well turn out that one team will dominate over the rest, or some will crumble uncharacteristically (I won't be surprised if it's Malaysia or China, anyone could), but at the moment it's hard to tell.
when it comes to question "Who will win Thomas Cup 2004" i have the same answer with Floorfilla 'My heart says Indonesia but my head says China..' he..he..he.. the strong candidate to win thomas cup '04 still china. they have lots of superior MS players (lin dan, xia, bao, chen hong), besides that they have Cai fu in MD. i think if indonesia win the thomas cup 2004 that's because they are a good team and they play good badminton. Playing in Jakarta not only will give an advantage for the team <because the crowd will cheer for them>, but also will give some pressure because lot of people hope you to win. (2 years ago when thomas cup 2002 played in china, china lost to malaysia in semifinal)
I think INA only have very slim chance to win TC this time if the event does not hold in Jakarta. The home ground give them the big hope. CHINA has the strongest team right now, but most of players are young. I just very wonder their performance in Jakarta. My guess is INA can get TC if they can reach final. And CHINA can get TC if they do not meet INA on the way except the group match. If CHINA faces INA in the final, it is 50/50. At that time CHINA has nothing to worry, it is the battle. And fans will bring the stadium down if INA lose in final regardless which opponent is. It will be very interesting TC this time.
vote malaysia......................... wch will be difficufl player 2 beat if he play very well........ lee chong wei... nothing 2 lose.... chong-lee if they play with less mistake than they might beat everyone......
I agree with hcyong, even if u're the best player in the world and ur consistent most of the time when playing in competitions, i think that if ur not in form during that particular day u could very well be a disaster on the court with many unforced errors which could cost u the match. I think that the Thomas Cup finals will definitely have China in it becos throughout the years they have been the most formidable opponents in the world. They will either be going against hosts Indonesia or dark horse Malaysia. The unfortunate thing is that Malaysia has many "holes" in their team thats why they are considered to be one of the weakest teams compared to China, Denmark, Indonesia and a new and improved Korea. Hmm..wonder if Malaysia is able to pull of a unexpected upset during the TC...
