* Luck of draw pits Malaysia against the Koreans in the quarter-finals
* Korea defeat India 4-1 to advance to quarter-finals
* Favourites China draw Germany
As Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) technical director Morten Frost said Malaysia “had a 25 per cent chance of being drawn against South Korea” in the quarter-finals but the luck of the draw did pit the Malaysians against the second seeds.
Malaysia had beaten the mighty Koreans 3-2 in their opening Group D match in Dongguan on Sunday and followed it up with a win over strong India by a similar margin on Monday to top the group. As group champions Malaysia were seeded for the quarter-final draw made on Wednesday.
The luck of the draw also pitted two teams from the same group – Group A – with hot favourites and group champions China facing runners-up Germany for a place in the semi-finals. China whitewashed Germany 5-0 in the group encounter.Ā
The big question now is can the Malaysian team repeat their stunning win over the Koreans and face either Japan or Denmark in the semi-finals.
The Malaysians face the Koreans on Thursday and Frost said there is no reason why the new look Malaysian team repeat the success again.
“We have achieved our target of reaching the quarter-finals although many had given up hope on Malaysia after being drawn with Korea and India in the group. But win we did against the two teams and this has boosted the confidence and morale of the team,” said the Dane who is also the head coach in Dongguan.
In the same breath Frost was quick to admit that “it is a tough draw but we will be there fighting” for a repeat win and is hoping that the vital points could once again come from the men’s doubles (Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong), men’s singles (Datuk Lee Chong Wei) and mixed doubles (Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying).
Quarter-finals
Malaysia vs South Korea
China vs Germany
Indonesia vs Taiwan
Japan vs Denmark
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