SINGAPORE, (Reuters) – Malaysian badminton’s bright young things are proving to be something of a flop and the country may need to fall back on some old faces if they are to challenge for the world men’s team championships.
Malaysia stages the Thomas Cup next May and had hoped that a quintet of up-and-coming players would spearhead the hosts’ challenge, but chief coach Rashid Sidek says he is now resigned to the fact that seasoned battlers will feature once again.
None of the five hopefuls — Tan Chun Seang, Chong Wei Feng, Mohd Arif Abdul Latif, Liew Daren and Chan Kwong Beng — were showing maturity in their game and were eliminated early at recent tournaments in Macau and Taiwan.
Based on this form, Rashid said none would provide a strong challenge for five-times champion Malaysia in the Thomas Cup Finals.
“This continues to be a big concern for us. These players may have a new coach but they still have their old thinking.
“I did not see anything extra from them,” he told Malaysia’s Star newspaper.
Unless there is a rapid turnaround, Malaysia will have no choice but to bring back 32-year-old Wong Choong Hann and Mohd Hafiz Hashim to support world number one Lee Chong Wei.
World number 12 Wong defeated China’s Chen Jin and Indonesian Taufik Hidayat en route to runner-up finishes in Macau and Taiwan.
The mercurial Hashim, who has suffered patchy form since last winning a tournament in 2006, also beat several higher ranked opponents including South Korean number one Park Sung-hwan.
“Choong Hann is an independent player without a coach but he played well while Hafiz showed his hunger to play good badminton again. Hopefully this time, Hafiz’s enthusiasm is for real,” said Rashid.
“If Choong Hann and Hafiz continue to produce good results, we have to give them another shot at the Thomas Cup Finals.
“Otherwise, we will have little chance to fight for points in the singles matches.
