Thomas Cup 2008 Schedule and Prediction
Thomas Cup
Group Stages (Preliminary)
Day 1: 11 May 2008/Sunday
8am
(A) China vs Nigeria
(C) Denmark vs New Zealand1pm
(B) Malaysia vs England
(D) Indonesia vs Thailand6pm
(A) Canada vs Nigeria
(C) Japan vs New ZealandDay 2: 12 May 2008/Monday
8am
(B) South Korea vs England
(D) Germany vs Thailand1pm
(A) China vs Canada
(C) Denmark vs Japan6pm
(B) Malaysia vs South Korea
(D) Indonesia vs GermanyPlay-off Stage: 13 May 2008/Tuesday
1pm
(P1) C3 (third place in Group C) vs D2 (runner-up in Group D)
(P2) C2 vs D36pm
(P3) A2 vs B3
(P4) B2 vs A3Quarter Finals: 14 May 2008/Wednesday
1pm
(QF1) A1 vs P1 (Play-off 1 Winner)
(QF2) B1 vs P26pm
(QF3) C1 vs P3
(QF4) D1 vs P4Semi Finals: 16 May 2008/Friday
6pm
(SF1) QF1 vs QF2
(SF2) QF3 vs QF4Final: 18 May 2008/Sunday
6pm
SF1 vs SF2
If not for my exams, I would be glued to the TV watching all the matches including the preliminaries. I usually wouldn’t witness the weeding out of the weaker teams, but I feel that even watching the weaker teams can be a good experience. Be it a cruel slaughter (say… China vs Canada) or a clash between two equally weak team (Canada vs Nigeria) it should be fun to watch the games.
The team to watch is South Korea. Though the odds to lift the cup are certainly not their favor, I reckon South Korea can put in a good show against Malaysia and England. They might face Indonesia in the quarter finals, though they are apparently the weaker side it is already an achievement to advance so far with only 8 players. That’s 3 singles players, 2 pairs and 1 backup player. Should injuries befall any two players, South Korea might have to concede one point automatically. Well, lets just see how far can Li Mao’s influence can take them.
Here’s a brief prediction of the tournament.
Preliminary Standings
Group A
China
Canada
NigeriaGroup B
Malaysia
South Korea
EnglandGroup C
Denmark
Japan
New ZealandGroup D
Indonesia
Thailand
GermanyPlay-offs
P1 New Zealand vs Thailand
P2 Japan vs Germany
P3 Canada vs England
P4 South Korea vs NigeriaQuarter Finals
QF1 China vs Thailand
QF2 Malaysia vs Japan
QF3 Denmark vs England
QF4 Indonesia vs South KoreaSemi Finals
SF1 China vs Malaysia
SF2 Denmark vs IndonesiaFinal
China vs Indonesia
Winners: China
I think there will be no surprises in the preliminaries. Biggest upsets I can think of are South Korea beating Malaysia and Japan beating Denmark. Though the former is more likely to happen, as a Malaysian supporter I wouldn’t want to see my team sink into demoralization that soon. Well if South Korea really beat Malaysia, then we can wave the Malaysian team goodbye in the Quarter Finals. Then we’ll see China vs South Korea which is so much interesting than what I have predicted.
Indonesian fans must be fuming at why I penciled China to nick the title off Indonesia’s grasp. I agree that Indonesia has the potential to win it all, but I think they will somehow slip up and let China grab 3 points. China will score first with Lin Dan and the first doubles match. Indonesia will reciprocate with a point from Taufik Hidayat. The second doubles match will probably go to Indonesia as well. I am pipping Chen Jin to beat Simon Santoso in a tense match to seal the title for China.
Well, let’s see how things go. Malaysia Boleh!
(BTW, Koo Kien Kiet-Tan Boon Heong playing second doubles, not first like what most people are saying)
4 Responses to “Thomas Cup 2008 Schedule and Prediction”
By J.tee
on May 11, 2008 | Reply
LoL VERY Long list lar~.Study man~ STUDY.You didt train the the delphinus character right?
By decypher
on May 11, 2008 | Reply
Yes, busy studying…
and no, I haven’t touched Maple Story since I came back.
By pakllang
on May 12, 2008 | Reply
I was there in the stadium in 1992 during both crutial game against China and Indonesia. Cant describe the feeling at that time. Malaysian’s rock queen Ella was also there at the players area trying to test her luck on Rashid Sidek who was at his top form at that time.
After watching the game yesterday, I dont think they can make it to the final. Choong Hun hafiz and the tan fook wan wah were all playing below par and will fail to deliver especially when facing players from Indon, Korea and China.
Guess we need to wait a little bit longer.
By decypher
on May 12, 2008 | Reply
Lucky you. When it was 1992 I was too young to appreciate the game. I only know some of the players by name because their names were splashed all over the newspapers quite often.
Malaysian players always have this inconsistency problem where they rise to the peak and under perform the next minute. Let’s hope that the Malaysian Thomas Cup team has seen enough of under par performances, and will stop trying to win but actually WIN!