China vs. Malaysia Thomas Cup 2010

How They Stack Up

LEE CHONG WEI (1) vs LIN DAN (2)

FANS are expected to be glued to their seats to watch two of the most celebrated players of the current era in badminton taking on each other. Chong Wei (pic) has a huge burden to win the fi rst point to narrow the odds against Malaysia winning the tie. But Lin Dan is coolly determined to spoil the Malaysian party. Both have showed great confi dence in winning all the matches in the Finals thus far. It is set to be an aggressive and physically demanding match. Chong Wei has improved by leaps and bounds and has all the spices in his game to trouble Lin Dan. The reigning All-England champion is hoping to make the three-time world champion eat humble pie in Malaysia again and extend his winning record to seven times.

KOO KIEN KEAT-TAN BOON HEONG (1) vs CAI YUN-FU HAIFENG (8)

BOTH pairs have been impressive. Everything seems to be going right for the Malaysians. Kien Keat (pic) has been clever at the net while the ever-smiling Boon Heong has been raining smashes with supreme confi dence. There is now a better order in their movement on court. The Malaysians will have to win this match to keep alive Malaysia's hopes of winning the tie. Cai Yun-Haifeng do not take defeat easily and will fi ght for every point. They are great opportunists and will take advantage of the slightest slip-ups from their opponents. Kien Keat-Boon Heong have to be alert at all times. Currently, the record favours the Chinese who have beaten the Malaysians four times in seven meetings.

WONG CHOONG HANN (16) vs CHEN JIN (3)

The odds are against Choong Hann (pic) even though he has beaten Chen Jin in their last meeting at the Macau Open last year. Chen Jin was troubled by injuries for some time last year but he seems to be back at his best. The record is 6-2 in favour of Chen Jin. The Chinese has better precision in his attacking game while Choong Hann can be erratic. Chen Jin is also physically stronger but Choong Hann will not be short of fi re in his belly. He had shown his guts before in a 21-15, 18-21, 20-22 defeat by Chen Jin in the 2007 Malaysian Open.

MOHD ZAKRY ABDUL LATIF-HOON THIEN HOW (-) vs GUO ZHENGDONG-XU CHEN (5)

IF the tie goes this far, it will be a crucial one for Malaysia with a possibility of victory or defeat. It is likely that Malaysia will retain this scratch pair as Mohd Fairuizuan Mohd Tazari did not handle the pressure well in his regular partnership with Zakry in the group tie against Japan. In contrast, the Zakry-Thien How partnership showed determination in the quarter-fi nals against Denmark. The skilful Zakry and hard-hitting Thien How are certainly the better bets to go for an upset win over Zhengdong-Xu Chen (pic).

MOHD HAFIZ HASHIM (22) vs CHEN LONG (10)

THERE IS a high possibility of China lining up youngster Chen Long (pic) instead of seasoned campaigner Bao Chunlai for this match. Chen Long scored a sensational win over Hafi z in the German Open semifi nals this year. And thus far he has justifi ed the faith of his coaches by winning all his matches in the group ties. Hafi z has a 2-2 record against Chunlai but they have not played against each other for two years. Hafi z is known to be inconsistent and Malaysia saw the good and bad side of him over two days. He struggled in his defeat by Shoji Sato of Japan but showed more urgency in his win over Joachim Persson of Denmark. And Malaysia will be hoping to see the bright side of Hafi z against China.

-The Star online