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2008 Thomas Cup: China captures 3rd straight badminton title beating Korea 3-1

China captures its third straight badminton title beating Korea 3-1.  The championship point came from China’s men’s doubles pair Xie Zhongbo and Guo Zhendong.  The Chinese duo came out firing at the start of the first game, taking a commanding win against Korean’s Hwan Ji-man and Lee Jae-Jin, 21-12.  The Koreans came back in the second game, putting up a tough fight, crawling their way to a 21-19 victory over the aggressive Chinese team.  The momentum, however, stayed on China’s side as Xie Zhongbo and Guo Zhendong, maintained their attacking play and pulled off an early lead and never looked back.  The championship point came out of Xie Zhongbo’s powerful smash, ending the 2008 Thomas Cup, capturing the crown for China with a superb win against the Koreans, 21-12. 

Update: China - 2 vs Korea - 1

China takes another win courtesy of Bao Chunlai’s victory over Korea’s Lee Hyun Il.  The world number 3 Bao Chunlai started slowly with Lee Hyun Il controlling most of the game.  The Chinese battled his way through and got to a commanding lead of 3 matchpoints at 20-17.  However, the energized Lee Hyun Il saved all 3 match points and put on a rubber game.  Both players had very sensational rallies, each one saving off match point from the other.  They both displayed superb performance.  In the end, the experience and mental focus of Bao Chunlai prevailed as he brushed off 4 match points from the Korean, and take the first game 28-26.  In the second game, the exhausting first game had taken its toll on Lee Hyun Il physically and mentally.  Bao Chunlai took advantage of the demoralized Korean, playing extraordinary net play and attacking smashes, putting on a commanding lead early and finishing it off 21-11 to put China ahead of Korea, 2 to 1.

Update: China - 1 vs Korea - 1

Korea leveled up the match (China - 1 vs Korea - 1) with a convincing win in their first men’s doubles match.  The partnership of Lee Yong Dae and Jung Jae Sung had to save up 4 match points from the very strong China men’s doubles team of Cai Yun and Fu Hai Feng to win the first game.  The Korean’s tenacity, fighting spirit, and never give up attitude gaved them the extra push to defend the attacks of team China and capture the first game 25-23.  The Koreans kicked-off the second game attacking, barely giving the Chinese team breathing space after the grueling first game.  They displayed great net plays and powerful smashes, continuously burying the shuttle to the ground to the delight of the crowd.  The Chinese team put on a late surge, but it was a little too late as the Koreans finished it off and captured their first point for the Thomas Cup Finals.

Temporary Result: China - 1 vs Korea - 0

The men’s singles match between China’s Lin Dan and Korea’s Park Sung Hwan kicked off the thrill and excitement in the 2008 Thomas Cup Finals.  Lin Dan started off cold with the first game dominated by Park Sung Hwan 21-10.  Slowly but surely, Lin Dan got his swagger back in the second game, with a display of patience and timely smashes,  holding off Park Sung Hwan for a close win,  21-18.   On the deciding game, Lin Dan continued his surge and displayed his magnificent net play and powerful smashes.  He completely dominated the third game, winning 21-8, capturing the first point for China.

The 2008 Thomas Cup badminton tournament has lived up to its reputation of bringing thrilling matches to the world. Tomorrow’s championship battle between defending champion China against the upcoming badminton stars of Korea may be history in the making. China is seeking their third straight Thomas Cup crown while Korea is hoping to make history by bringing their first ever Thomas Cup title to Korea.

Yesterday’s semi-finals match up between China and Malaysia lived up to its hype as surprising victories were secured by both teams. The two teams battled each other neck to neck to the end. Malaysia started very hot behind Lee Chong Wei’s stunning victory over the world number 1 Lin Dan. Malaysia’s dynamic duo, Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong could not get their groove together against the very fired up China men’s doubles team of Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng. Mohd Fairuzizuan Tazari and Mohd Zakry Abdul Latiff saved Malaysia’s men’s doubles by snatching a surprising victory over Guo Zhengdong and Xie Zhongbo of China. In the end, China’s men’s singles players Bao Chunlai and Chen Jin proved too strong for the Malaysian singles shuttlers Wong Choong Hann and Muhammad Hafiz Hashim.

The semi-finals match between host Indonesia and the persistent Korean team had a very surprising result. The Indonesians came into the match as the strong favorites but the hungry Koreans changed the game. Park Sung-Hwan started Korea’s strong rally by defeating world number 6 Sony Dwi Kuncoro of Indonesia. Korea’s upcoming men’s doubles stars Jung Jae-Sung and Lee Yong-Dae continued their winning ways by shocking the Indonesian powerhouse Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan. Lee Hyun-Il of Korea completed the surprising upset by defeating the Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia.

Tomorrow’s Thomas Cup Finals is a battle between the very strong team of China and the young, talented and hungry shuttlers of Korea. China went to the tournament with just one mission - to defend their crown and capture their third straight Thomas cup title. The Koreans, on the other end, went to the extreme length of intentionally avoiding a clash with China going into the quarterfinals. In the end, Korea’s strategy worked. They are in the Finals. Will China remain the most dominant force in World badminton? Or will the upcoming shuttlers of Korea finally put a mark in the World badminton scene by upsetting the defending champs and capturing their first ever Thomas Cup crown?

Tomorrow’s semi-final match between China and Malaysia in the 2008 Thomas Cup may be a prelude to the 2008 Beijing Olympics in August.   It’s the battle between the men’s single powerhouse of China against the unpredictable men’s double pairings of Malaysia.

China crushed Thailand on their quarterfinal match, courtesy of their singles players’ Lin Dan and Bao Chunlai’s decisive victories.  The other win for China came from former world number 1 men’s doubles shuttlers Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng.  All three games were won by China in a commanding fashion.

Malaysia, on the other end, totally dominated their quarterfinals matches against their Japanese opponents.  Lee Chong Wei, Malaysia’s number 1 singles player, and the other singles shuttler Wong Choong Han both secured convincing victories for Malaysia.  The surprise of the day came from Malaysia’s new men’s doubles pairings of Koo Kien Keat and Choong Tan Fook.  Koo’s usual partner, Tan Boon Heong teamed up with Zakry Latif this time.  According to National’s doubles coach Rexy Mainaky, the new pairings is intended to keep China guessing and make their strategy unpredictable for their upcoming semi-finals match. 

Both China and Malaysia are home of great badminton players.  Both have made it to the top as Thomas Cup champions.  Both have something to prove.  For China, to defend its crown and maintain its supremacy in World badminton.  For Malaysia, to prove that they can bring down powerhouse China and bring the glorious Thomas Cup back to Malaysia.  It will be a showdown of blazing shuttles and powerful smashes.  It will be a display of surprising tactics and amazing rallies.  It will be a match to remember. 

The 2008 Thomas Uber Cup just got underway this afternoon.  It is one of the most prestigious badminton tournaments in the world.   The tournament is different from the Badminton Super Series in that it is a team event, where each country has its own team.  The teams battle each other in men’s singles and men’s doubles for the Thomas Cup and the women’s singles and doubles for the Uber Cup.  Throughout its history, the tournament has been dominated by Indonesia with 13 titles, followed by China with 6 titles and Malaysia, 5 titles.

This year’s host is Indonesia.  Their team will be led by the men’s singles olympic champion Taufik Hidayat.  The Indonesian crowd and the fans will surely rute for their home team.  But the defending champion  China will have a lot to say.  Their top 3 men’s singles players Lin Dan, Bao Chunlai and Chen Jin, World ranked 1, 3 and 4 respectively, will definitely set the shutlles blazing with their awesome smashes.  On the other end, Malaysia is also claiming that this is their year.  After a long drought in the tournament, their team will be depending on men’s singles world number 2, Lee Chong Wei and their men’s doubles badminton players Koo Kien Kiat and Tan Boon Heong to carry them through the finals and capture the title.

The tournament has just started and it’s a long way to go.  Who will capture the title this year?  Will it be host Indonesia?  Will it be the defending champion China?  Or will it be powerhouse Malaysia?