Elusive Thomas..

And so China won the 2010 Thomas Cup...

We came close thrice (1994, 1998, 2002) to win it back ever since we last won the Cup in 1992.. but this year's campaign was kinda pathetic.. as we lost to Japan in the group level, barely scrapped pass Denmark in the quarter finals and was finally put out of miserly by China in the semi-finals about an hour ago..

I am a badminton fan. I grew up watching players like Yang Yang, Zhao Jianhua, Morten Frost and then Ardy Wiranata, Alan Budikusuma, Rexy Mainaky/Ricky Subagja, Li Yongbo/Tian Bingyi, Park Joo-bong/Kim Moon-soo, our own Foo Kok Keong, Cheah Soon Kit/Yap Kim Hock and the Sidek Brothers (Misbun, Razif, Jalani and Rashid) for Thomas Cup..

Back then, if there was live coverage, I will be there in front of the television, mesmerized by the fancy footwork, sharp smashes, deceiving drop shots and long rallies.. those were the days of constant utterance of "Service Over" by the umpire who has turned "mute" these days, and where every single point needed to be fought hard for, not easily given.. I don't like the current format of 21-points with points being awarded regardless of who holds the service.. Those were the good old days where true grit and pure mental strength differentiate the masters and the pretenders..

I had the opportunity to attend 2 Japan Open Tournament (2007 and 2008) while in Tokyo, which I had written in this blog. It was different watching the matches live and watching over the television.. And one of the things that I hated most about watching it through the idiot box is the commentary..

The commentators in TV1 and TV9 are beyond horrendous.. They butchered the players' names, gave running commentaries like in the radio and made useless/brainless comments that don't add any value to the game. Yes, there were many foreign players with unfamiliar sounding names, thus the least they could do was to get the correct pronunciations for the names of these players as part of their "homework". But no, they prefer to just improvise and pronounce the names like in Malay language.. :x :x

Another thing that these so-called commentators like to do is to give running commentaries of the game as it unfolds.. HELLO!! We are watching it the same time as you are!! We don't need you to verbalize every single actions in the court.. We can SEE them ourselves!!!! Then they like to add their two-cents worth of opinion which sounded like a broken record to me, as they repeat the same terms/vocabulary every time.. Sometimes silence is golden, especially when you have nothing productive or intelligent to say..

Okay, enough comments about the commentators, now it is the players/coaches turn.. Here are some of my observations and comments..

1. Where are all the young players??
Ok, I am going to sound very ageist, but the cold fact is that the average age of our 3 singles players is 29, while it is 25.7 for the Chinese, 27.3 for the Danes, 24.7 for the Japanese, 25 for the Indonesians and 26 for the South Koreans.. (Datuk Lee is 27 years old, Wong CH is 33 and Hafiz is 27)

Where are all our young players?? Do they have plans to groom successor(s) for Datuk Lee?? Are we going to keep on depending on "old" players like Wong CH until they can no longer walk?? The 2 tiring match-ups against the Japs and the Danes really show in Wong's game against the Chinese today.. So even when the mind is willing, the body can no longer catch up with the fast actions on the court.. We need back-up! We need reinforcements!! We need new blood!!

2. Why are the players so fat??
Am I the only one who feels that Koo KK, Fairuzizuan and Zakry really and seriously need to lose some weight??? Guys shouldn't have "thunder thighs", much less for guys who are supposed to be bouncing and prancing around in the court chasing after a shuttle made from goose's feathers. They are supposed to float and glide, not lumber and fumble.. And did anyone notice the "beer belly" that those three were carrying?? :x :x :x

Seriously guys, lose those extra pounds and you will be running faster (to cover more court) and jumping higher (to execute sharper smashes) in no time..

3. Why are we playing along so nicely??
Our players are not known to be "thinking" players.. most of the time, we just outlast or out-tired our opponents.. other than Datuk Lee & Wong (while he is in his prime, not now), I can't see any other player who has the stamina of Foo Kok Keong.. even the fighting spirit is very much lacking too.. we are either easily affected by what happen on/off court or we react instead of thinking first..

Our players always "play along" the rhythm and tempo set by the opponents.. We never dictate the game, we never dominate the court, and we sure never outclass our opponents.. We don't just have to strengthen our "mental steelness" and improve our fitness, we need to teach our players to use their head and outsmart their opponents.. Play smart, not hard..


I always wonder if our national team is employing too many coaches.. or if our training systems need to be looked into and revamp.. as teams like Denmark, South Korea and Japan are fast catching up on us.. They are definitely doing some things really well as they are threatening the dominance of the traditional power house like Indonesia and us.. Even the mighty Uber Cup team of China was defeated by the South Korean ladies yesterday..

Do we need to wait another 25 years before we get the Cup back? I sure hope not..