Post Last Edit by kayla at 15-5-2012 20:45
Tuesday May 15, 2012 - THE STAR
Japan will be a bigger threat this time around, warns Razif
RUN-UP TO THOMAS CUP FINALS
By RAJES PAUL
STARTING today, Starsport takes a look at five contenders of the Thomas Cup Finals – China, South Korea, Denmark, Indonesia and Japan – to gauge their strengths and weaknesses compared to Malaysia. We start the series with former international Razif Sidek analysing Japan. 
KUALA LUMPUR: Japan are fast rising as a major threat in the Thomas Cup and Malaysia have to be on guard if they don’t want to return home from Wuhan with their tail between their legs.
Two years ago, Malaysia suffered their first ever defeat to Japan in the Finals when they lost 2-3 in a group tie – much to the horror and disbelief of the home supporters at the Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil.
Now, the Japanese side look even stronger and are oozing with confidence ahead of the Finals from May 20-27.
They have two singles stars in Sho Sasaki and Kenichi Tago and they can also bank on three solid men’s pairs – Naoki Kawamae-Shoji Sato, Hirokatsu Hashimoto-Noriyasu Hirata and Hiroyuki Endo-Kenichi Hayakawa – to ruffle some feathers. All of them are ranked in the world’s top 16.
Yesterday, Razif Sidek, a member of the 1992 Thomas Cup Finals winning team, said a clash with Japan could go either way.
“I reckon the score will be either a 3-2 win or 1-3 defeat for Malaysia. Japan used to have only one strong singles and one formidable doubles pair during my time but now, they have depth in the team,” said Razif.
“From the past results, Japan look good to challenge for one point in the singles and two in the doubles. 
“Their doubles players have beaten our pairs quite often of late.
“They are indeed capable and their only drawback is inconsistency.”
Razif said world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei should not face a problem against Sho Sasaki in the first singles. The Malaysian has never lost to Sho before in all their five meetings.
“The record clearly shows Chong Wei is a superior player. This point is for the Malaysian’s taking,” said Razif.
Razif, however, is quite concerned with the next three matches involving Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong, Liew Daren and Lim Khim Wah-Goh V Shem.
“The first doubles could be 50-50, depending on who the Japanese field. Kien Keat-Boon Heong have a good record against the first Japanese pair Naoki-Shoji (the Malaysians had beaten them in all three meetings) but Japan may move up their second pair Hirokatsu-Noriyasu. Koo and Tan had lost to them twice before. This match could be tricky,” said Razif.
“Based on recent results, I don’t think Daren stands a chance against the formidable Kenichi. Kenichi’s standard is one level higher.
“Our second doubles pair are ranked lower and it will be quite challenging for them to come through.”
Khim Wah-V Shem do not have a good record against the Japanese.
“They lost to Hirokatsu-Noriyasu in the Thomas Cup qualifying round in Macau and were beaten by Hiroyuki-Kenichi in the quarter-finals of last month’s Asian Badminton Championships in India.
Razif, however, is confident Hafiz can seal the tie for Malaysia if it needed a decider.
Hafiz may face first timers – either Takuma Euda or Riichi Takeshita – and Razif said: “Hafiz has enough experience to take on either one of them.”
In 2010, Hafiz failed to save the tie for Malaysia when he lost to an experienced Shoji, who has since then swtiched to doubles.
Malaysia and Japan may meet in the final if both qualify for the elimination round as group champions.
They will be seeded joint third-fourth and will go into separate halves.
But if Malaysia lose their Group B tie to Denmark, they may end up meeting Japan in the elimination round due to the draw.
Only the top two teams in the group make the elimination round. The group champions will be seeded while all the second-ranked teams in the group will be drawn to meet the seeded teams.
Both Japan and Malaysia have set a semi-final target.
~ ni razif punye analisis kalau lawan ngan jepun .... aku setuju ngan pendapat dia .... kalau kita jumpa jepun, kalau menang mungkin 3-2 ... terpulang kepada pemain doubles mana yg diturunkan ...combination scratch pair yg mana ... 2nd single jepun tago terlalu kuat utk daren ... hafiz kalau betul2 fit mungkin ada harapan utk menang 3rd single ... kalau chong weifeng yg main tak pasti la .. so kena pastikan dua2 doubles kita menang 
| 
Post time 13-5-2012 07:23 PM
变色卡
Author
PASUKAN MALAYSIA
Ready to rock: The Malaysian Thomas Cup squad at the KL International Airport before leaving for Guangzhou yesterday. – S.S. KANESAN / The Star
Tight schedule: Lee Chong Wei attending a promotional event on Thursday.
yg part pling menarik "MUNGKIN KE FINAL"
