Malaysia declines to host Thomas and Uber Cups

Malaysia declines to host Thomas and Uber Cups

JAKARTA (JP): Malaysia declined to host next year's Thomas and
Uber Cup championships, mentioning the possible humiliating
defeat of its team as the main reason.

"Hosting the Thomas Cup is not a problem, but what is
important is to ensure that we have a competitive team," the
Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) president Datuk Nadzmi
Salleh was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times's Friday
edition.

"We are not going for it. We are in a process of increasing
our probability of winning and too much pressure will placed be
on the side to do well in the Thomas Cup.

"I feel it will not be fair for the players and the fans who
will not be ready to witness another disappointment," Nadzmi
said.

Malaysia failed to reach the semifinals after unexpectedly
losing to Denmark and South Korea in the group's round-robin
match.

Indonesia managed to retain its domination by bringing home
the Thomas Cup for the 12th time, while China took home the Uber
Cup.

Malaysia has been trying to improve its shuttlers performances
by hiring Korean Park Joo-bong, a former doubles specialist, and
Indonesian Indra Gunawan as their singles shuttlers consultant.

However, local construction firm, Goldbridge Engineering, the
commercial rights holder, which is given the priority by
International Badminton Federation (IBF) to name the venue, might
still want Malaysia to host the tournaments and this could push
BAM into a corner.

Nadzmi said that they could still consider the offer if the
other IBF affiliates are unable to organize the tournament. (yan)