Malaysia Defeats China 3-1 in Thomas Semi-final

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, May 17, 2002

Malaysia Defeats China 3-1 in Thomas Semi-final

Malaysia denied China the coveted Thomas Cup on home soil 3-1 in a semi-final Thursday in Guangzhou, and The Chinese have to wait another two years before they can try to win back the Thomas Cup that has eluded them for 10 years, if they can produce some world top men's doubles.

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Malaysia denied China the coveted Thomas Cup on home soil 3-1 in a semi-final Thursday in Guangzhou.

Malaysians must now wait for the final rivals to be decided between Indonesia and Denmark in the second semi-final tonight.

China and Malaysia, both frequent cup winners in the past, hoped this year to erase the painful memories of their 1998 and 2000 cup crusades, when they both suffered defeats by Indonesians in the title contends.

But China failed to clinch the final place this time.

China depended on their strong singles players, bringing back memories of the late 1980s when China's Yang Yang, Zhao Jianhua and Han Jian dominated the sport, to make their second consecutive cup final.

The Malaysians pinned much hope on their doubles and wished that their singles would present some upsets for China.

World No 1 Xia Xuanze made four consecutive appearances on court to play the opening singles, the match considered the deciding point for the final result.

Xia played some of the best badminton of his career, beating Malaysian Wong Choong Hann, whom he had defeated six times in a row.

The two played a close contend on the net as both gruelled to the net and let few attack-and-defense rallies.

But Xia showed he was stronger on the mind to win the knife-edge match 6-8, 8-6, 7-5 and 8-6.

However, Hashim Muhd Hafiz B made a more heroic deed for the Malaysian side, upsetting China's world No 2 and world junior champion Bao Chunlai in a five-set tussle to give them a crucial win on second singles.

Before them, the two side levelled at 1-1 as Chan Chong Ming/Chew Choon Eng outclassed Zhang Jun and Wang Wei in straight sets.

"I am really glad I could give my team a point because Bao is a very good player," Hafiz said.

His performance was praised by Malaysia's singles coach, Indra Gunawan.

"I am proud of his fighting spirit; you know he came back from 1-6 during the game."

Bao, in his cup debut, bowed to the pressure and lost the match, though he had taken several distant leads in the third and deciding sets.

His opponent Hafiz, who lost their only encounter in March's All England Open, displayed a patient game only to watch the younger Bao commit a series of unforced errors.

The Chinese were still fighting when Chen Qiqiu and Zhang Wei staged some encouraging shows before losing to Choong Tan Fook and Lee Wan Wah in five sets, despite taking a two-set lead.

The Chinese even took the first two sets narrowly, but the Malaysians then played something matching their top world rankings to come back at 5-7, 6-8, 7-1, 7-3, 7-3 and disappointed fans in the packed gymnasium.

The Chinese have to wait another two years before they can try to win back the Thomas Cup that has eluded them for 10 years, if they can produce some world top men's doubles.

"Chinese are very good fighters and they were on home soil, so I am very proud that we played our best to beat them against all odds," said Datuk Nadzmi Mohamed Salleh, president of Malaysia's national badminton association.

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