What a final it proved to be as both teams played probably one of the most entertaining Thomas Cup final in recent times. Except for the second singles in which Wei Feng was simply outplayed by Kento Momota, the other matches could have gone either way.
Chong Wei started the ball rolling for Malaysia with a straight sets win over Kenichi Tago but it was not an easy match - Tago was 5 points ahead in the second set at one stage and could have won it.
The first doubles was an even closer match but the Japanese pair managed to squeeze out a 21-19 win in the third set to make the tie 1-1. Perhaps Thien How should consider losing some weight as that could be seen as a weakness from his opponents.
The second singles was the most disappointing match as much more was expected from Wei Feng. This is probably the first time I have seen Wei Feng play. He has an oddball style and I am not sure how far he will go with it. The loss certainly leaves a lot of question marks for him. With this loss, Japan were ahead 2-1.
Based on current form, the Malaysian pair of V. Shem and Wee Kiong was expected to win the second doubles quite easily and though they did win - it was a very close affair. However looking at their performances , it appears this partnership should be kept.
Daren performed creditably in the third singles and with a bit more discipline he probably could have won it.
Malaysia was not expected to go far with this team so getting to the final was a bonus but it seems like the second singles was the bane once again. In the past, China was able to win the Thomas Cup mostly from the strength of their singles and hence it would seem that this would be what Malaysia needs to continue work on to bring back the Cup.
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