Thomas Cup tourneys can only get tougher

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THE 2014 Thomas Cup final between Malaysia and Japan was a nail-biting cliff-hanger.

The outcome hung in the balance after four matches and one-all in the fifth singles.

At that stage, the teams were tied 2-2 with the win-or-burst singles in the decider between Liew Darren and Takuma

Ueda all to play for at one set apiece.

The crucial third singles could have gone either way but it was the Japanese who came up with the goods when it mattered, vanquishing his Malaysian opponent 21-12, 18-21, 21-17 to seal a maiden Thomas Cup victory for Japan.

In the heart-stopping final tussle for badminton’s most coveted prize, the expectations of a nation rested on the shoulders of the players from both countries. The matches were closely fought. No quarter was given and none asked.

In the end, the Japanese proved the tougher mentally as the Malaysians faltered under the pressure, letting slip their best chance to wrest the Thomas Cup since making the final in Guangzhou in 2002.

Pundits say the outcome of the 2014 event might have been different had scratch pair Tan Boon Heong and Hoon Thien How, who dumped out Indonesia’s world No. 1 combination in the semis, been able to repeat their giant-killing feat against Kenichi Hayakawa and Hiroyuki Endo in the second doubles of the final.

Tan-Hoon won the first set with ease (21-12) but the world No. 3 Japanese pair fought back to take the second set 21-17 and force a rubber.

As the match progressed, Kenichi-Hiroyuki’s confidence grew, at times rattling the Malaysians with their risk-taking bravado. The Japanese pair also held their nerves better, scoring a series of well-crafted points to win 21-19 and level the score for their country — with three games to go.

“They dared take risks in the closing moments,” Boon Heong condeded after the match. It was enough to make the difference.

At Thomas Cup level, half the match is fought in the mind. Once again, we failed to measure up. Invariably, it’s the strong of mind that usually prevails in a battle of attrition.

Malaysia have not won the Thomas Cup since Rashid Sidek led the country to a famous 3-2 win over Indonesia in 1992 — twenty two long years ago.

Playing second fiddle to Japan at the Siri Fort Indoor Stadium in New Delhi this time around means Malaysia’s wait for Thomas Cup glory has been extended — and the wait could be long and ardous, going by the present state of badminton in the country.

Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) president Tengku Tan Sri Mahaleel Tengku Ariff, while congratulating the team, said Malaysia should not be satisfied with its present achievement, adding that “to be champions one day, we need to have the hunger and drive to want more.”

While Kento Momota, Dong-kuen and Viktor Axelsen can live with the established players on court, their Malaysian counterparts are yet to prove themselves at that level.

Much-touted shuttlers such as Zulfadli Zulkifli, Misbun Ramdan and Iskandar Zulkarnain must step up their training if they want to make a significant impact because right now, they are nowhere near their age-group peers in open international tournaments. In fact, they might have already missed the boat.

We should now be looking at the 19-21 age groups to pick potential talents for specialised grooming. They are the ones who will lead our future charge on the international stage.

Thomas Cup tournaments can only get more competitive. Coach Rashid Sidek has admitted as much when he said it will be harder for Malaysia “to mount a serious challenge in two years’ time.”

“The competition will be tougher. We not only have to face Denmark, South Korea, Indonesia and China but also Japan – and maybe India.

“All these teams have exposed some of their new players in New Delhi and they will be ready for the next round,” he said.

Unless we can produce a new crop of world beaters, Datuk Lee Chong Wei will likely still have to lead the singles challenge at the age of 33. Liew Darren and Chong Wei Feng are now 27 and could be over the hill by the next Thomas Cup.

To solely depend on these “aging” players is to remain static, if not taking a step backward.

Badminton officials said our target for the 2014 Thomas Cup was making the semi-finals and getting into the final is a bonus. Congratulations are in order but let’s not forget second best is still the loser.

Our players need to discard the jaguh kampung mentality and BAM can help by coming up with strategies to guide them out of the tempurung.

Skills win half the battle. A never-say-die fighting spirit decides the other half.

We can always hope and perhaps dream a little, can’t we?