Danish Masters Clinch Thomas Cup With A Tinge Of Malaysian Flavour

By Nursyabiha Sukri KUALA LUMPUR, May 24 (Bernama) -- Denmark's historic Thomas Cup victory had a tinge of Malaysian flavour to say the least as the secret hands of former Malaysian coach Misbun Sidek and his younger brother Jailani Sidek were in motion behind the stage. The social media has been a hive of activities since the Danish team beat Indonesia to clinch the Thomas Cup for the first time, with a picture featuring Jan O Jorgensen and Hans-Kristian Vittinghus training at Badminton Nusa Mahsuri Club in the presence of Misbun and Jailani. Jailani, one half of the former Malaysian men's doubles pair that won the Thomas Cup in 1992, said the presence of Danish players was no secret since they often came to the academy to meet Misbun who was Lee Chong Wei's former coach. He said a picture which features the players training with Misbun before the Malaysian Open had gone viral. "They had trained with Misbun about two weeks before the Malaysian Open and their target and focus was to win the Thomas Cup and prepare for the Olympics. "In fact even before we won the Thomas Cup in 1992, we had trained under three Chinese coaches to prepare for the competition. Such preparations are a common practice among teams," he told Bernama when contacted Monday. Jalani and Misbun also declared that they were always ready to offer their expertise and services to players who sought their assistance. "Danish players are attached to clubs and all their expenses paid by the clubs and does not involve the National badminton association. The players are therefore free to choose where they wished to train. "They sought Misbun's advise to find out how Datuk Lee Chong Wei remained competitive and skillful and how he can maintain his performance until now. Misbun also knows the Danish players well as he had been with Chong Wei in the past," he said. Speaking of the Malaysian squad's performance in the Thomas Cup competition, Jailani said the selection of players and setting the target was the Badminton Association of Malaysia's (BAM) prerogative since the BAM knows the players and their capabilities. "I can only share my views if asked about the Thomas Cup winning squad of 1992 and the current squad. The selection of the players is done by the BAM and if the national body says qualifying for the semifinals is a bonus, it is not wrong. "During our time the target and focus was winning the Thomas Cup. If in the past we sought the assistance of coaches from China, the current squad has the services of BAM technical director Morten Frost Hansen from Denmark," he said. Denmark who pulled off a major upset by beating Malaysia 3-2 in the semifinal, went on to beat Indonesia 3-2 in the final and become the first European country to win the Thomas Cup (picture). (photoBERNAMA) --BERNAMA