Analysis of Malaysian Campaign in the Danish Open

Men's Singles
Once again, this tournament reinforces the fact that Malaysia has no depth in Mens Singles. With the sole exception of Lee Chong Wei, who went unsupported into the Semifinals, and Hafiz Hashim, who made it to the second round only to lose to qualifier Joachim Persson , all other Malaysian Men's Singles players did not make it past the first round. Lee Chong Wei might be a great player, but he cannot be expected to carry the Malaysian challenge every single time. This is putting too much pressure on him, and we all know that Malaysian players usually crack under pressure. BAM should actively try to find more capable shuttlers to at least make it to the quarterfinals, and throw out the ones that exist merely to make up the numbers for the tournament and be involved in the process.

Men's Doubles
The result of this tournament is another repetition of many others; Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong are left to carry the challenge, and they take another Super Series title again, saving Malaysian blushes, while veterans Choong Tan Fook and Lee Wan Wah once again prove that they are good for nothing but for defeating Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng, hence clearing the way for Koo and Tan, when they lost to Howard Bach and Khan Bob Malaythong in the first round. Choong and Tan might be good for clearing the way for Koo and Tan, but if they are unable to beat lesser pairs, they cannot proceed to the later rounds. This is a persistant weakness of Choong and Tan, and I hope they will correct it before Thomas Cup or Beijing Olympics next year.

Women's Singles
The unsuprising lost of Mew Choo in the hands of European based Chinese Jiang in two straight sets does raise some eyebrows, once again, proving the inconsistencies in Malaysian Women's Singles. Overall a disastrous category, although Malaysians were not really expecting anything from this.

Women's Doubles
One of the silver linings of this tournament. Chin Eei Hui and Wong Pei Tty, by scalping the first seed, put Malaysia back on the Women's Doubles map. Unfortunately, they were defeated by Zhao Tingting and Yu Yang, partially because of Eei Hui's injury. I look forward to more results from this pair, and I hope that they can prove that they are really a pair to reckon with in future tournaments, by that, also proving that their win here wasn't a fluke.

I look forward to the commencement of the French Open, and stay tuned for more updates from The Badminton Blog.