Lee Chong Wei being taken to a hospital in a wheelchair after suffering an ankle injury during the Thomas Cup tie against Denmark’s Peter Gade Christensen in Wuhan, China, yesterday. Pic by Edmund Samunting
MALAYSIA'S fears came true as they will take on red hot favourites China in the quarter-finals of the Thomas Cup as a result of their 3-2 defeat to Denmark in Group C yesterday.
Malaysia, who also lost Lee Chong Wei to an injury during the defeat to Denmark, can forget about their semi-final target as China will be too strong without the World No 1 in their line-up in the last eight at Wuhan Sports Centre today.
Denmark received a kind draw as they will meet Russia in the last eight and should they win, they will either meet second seed South Korea or Germany in the semi-finals on Friday.
The other semi-final clash will be against Indonesia and Japan with the winners most likely meeting China in the last four.
It could have been avoided if Malaysia had beaten Denmark but it was never meant to be as Chong Wei twisted his ankle while leading 2-1 in the first game against Peter Gade Christensen.
The match ended just after five minutes when Chong Wei was forced to concede a walkover before things got from bad to worse when the scratch pair of Tan Boon Heong-Hoon Thien How lost 21-17, 21-23, 21-11 to Carsten Modensen-Mathias Boe to go 2-0 down.
Liew Daren then, to everyone's surprise, calmly negotiated a must-win situation as he secured a 21-15, 21-13 upset win over Jan Jorgensen.
Denmark also fielded the scratch pair of Jonas Rasmussen-Joachim Fischer Nielsen who outplayed Koo Kien Keat-Goh V Shem 21-18, 21-15 for an unassailable 3-1 lead.
Hafiz Hashim secured a consolation 17-21, 21-17, 21-19 win against Hans-Kristian Vittinghus but it was to no avail.
The absence of Lee Chong Wei means Malaysia's singles line-up be reshuffled. Daren and Hafiz will now move up the order while Chong Wei Feng will come in as the third singles.
National singles coach Rashid Sidek said Malaysia face a difficult task but the players will still give their best to try and achieve the semi-final target.
"Chong Wei's injury is unfortunate but things like that can happen to anyone.
"We could have won the match but it is not the end for us. We must battle harder without Chong Wei in the last eight," said Rashid.
"Daren and Hafiz will play as the top two singles while Wei Feng will be the third singles which means our line-up will be weaker. The team is still spirited and we will go all out although there will be added pressure. This is also a chance for the younger players to prove their worth."
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