Fallen hopes
With all the hype and attention the badminton team has been getting, it's only natural to expect the best from the national team. Honestly, I thought they would win. They stood a good chance being pitted against South Korea and Denmark only instead of the bigger guns of China and Indonesia. Indonesia is now a pale shadow of its former might but would still pack a punch that would send Malaysia knocking.
Instead the typical malaise happened. The captain, Choon Han got injured which definitely worked against us when the time came to face Denmark. The way Hafiz played the game making unforced errors, repeatedly, one after another is yet another dent in the Malaysian hope of ever obtaining the coveted cup of badminton. His earlier games were alright, and there were flashes of brilliance not unlike that of Heryanto Arbi with his strong back smashes that neatly find their marks. Against Jonassen, there were only mistakes after blunders after errors..... totally destroying our hope of ever securing a point from the singles. The third singles ... which was supposed to be won by us... speechless. The player might as well pack his bags and leave the national team. The first singles? Quite well fought, but not good enough. The doubles? Kudos to both the doubles teams. They were the highlight of the entire Malaysian campaign. They've beaten players ranked higher, they've basically played well.
All said and done, they've played comparably under the new format...which brings me to another rant topic... The new system of scoring. I don't like it. It takes the grace of badminton away, making it so much more fast-paced and aggresive. There is no more court craft, just aggresive play-style. No doubt players may opt for rallies and stroke-play, they wouldn't be able to beat an attacking player on this new format.
Good luck to both teams in tomorrow's finals.
I feel so much better now. It's always better out than in, as that ugly brute of a Shrek's mother used to say.
Instead the typical malaise happened. The captain, Choon Han got injured which definitely worked against us when the time came to face Denmark. The way Hafiz played the game making unforced errors, repeatedly, one after another is yet another dent in the Malaysian hope of ever obtaining the coveted cup of badminton. His earlier games were alright, and there were flashes of brilliance not unlike that of Heryanto Arbi with his strong back smashes that neatly find their marks. Against Jonassen, there were only mistakes after blunders after errors..... totally destroying our hope of ever securing a point from the singles. The third singles ... which was supposed to be won by us... speechless. The player might as well pack his bags and leave the national team. The first singles? Quite well fought, but not good enough. The doubles? Kudos to both the doubles teams. They were the highlight of the entire Malaysian campaign. They've beaten players ranked higher, they've basically played well.
All said and done, they've played comparably under the new format...which brings me to another rant topic... The new system of scoring. I don't like it. It takes the grace of badminton away, making it so much more fast-paced and aggresive. There is no more court craft, just aggresive play-style. No doubt players may opt for rallies and stroke-play, they wouldn't be able to beat an attacking player on this new format.
Good luck to both teams in tomorrow's finals.
I feel so much better now. It's always better out than in, as that ugly brute of a Shrek's mother used to say.
