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)