PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian men shuttlers had all the reasons to celebrate yesterday. They finally silenced their critics by qualifying for the Thomas Cup Finals, which will be held in Wuhan, China from May 20-27.

And KLRC’s Mohd Hafiz Hashim could also afford to smile as he finally ended his winless run by beating P. Kashyap 21-17, 18-21, 21-11 to hand Malaysia the winning point in the 3-0 victory over India in the quarter-finals of the Thomas Cup Asian Zone qualifying tournament in Macau.

Earlier, seasoned campaigners Lee Chong Wei and Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong had got Malaysia off to a 2-0 lead despite showing some sign of strain in the first singles and doubles events respectively.

World No. 1 Chong Wei dropped the second game but stormed back to deliver a 21-12, 17-21, 21-8 win over Ajay Jayaram while Kien Keat-Boon Heong had to fend off a late charge from Rupesh Kumar-Sanave Thomas before prevailing 21-14, 23-21.

Today, Malaysia will take on Japan in the semi-finals. Japan have also confirmed their trip to Wuhan by virtue of making the top four yesterday with a convincing 3-0 win over Taiwan in another quarter-final match.

Finally victorious: Hafiz Hashim ended his winless run in the Thomas Cup qualifiers.

Hafiz, who showed more urgency in his win over Ajay yesterday, was over the moon with Malaysia’s qualification for the Finals.

“I am glad that I finally won a point for Malaysia after all the disappointments,” said Hafiz, who lost to Chan Yan Kit and Shon Wan-ho in group ties against Hong Kong and South Korea respectively.

“I went on the offensive from the start and kept my opponent on tight and long rallies. My attacking game was solid and I am thrilled that I could contribute a point and take Malaysia into the Finals in Wuhan.

“There will be no pressure against Japan tomorrow. The team will be out to enjoy a good game,” he added.

National singles coach Rashid Sidek was happy that the players stood together from the start despite arriving in Macau with one of the weakest teams.

“Malaysians are known for their strength in the team event and today, our men shuttlers proved it once again. Their team spirit was high and they kept on motivating each other,” said Rashid.

“So much was said about the team prior to the qualifiers. Some quarters even undermined our team’s chances. I am glad that our players did not let all the negative talk affect their rhythm as they pulled through together to make the Finals. Our success here is all about great team work.”

On the semi-final tie against Japan today, Rashid said they were toying with the idea of resting their top players.

“They may give Chong Wei and Kien Keat-Boon Heong a break and move up the others – especially the back-up players.

“We have achieved our target. It does not matter if we do not win the tournament.

“We may give the back-up players a chance to play but it will be subject to our coaches’ discussion later.”

Malaysia may field Hafiz as the first singles, followed by Liew Daren and Mohd Arif Abdul Latif. In the men’s doubles, Lim Khim Wah-Goh V Shem may be joined by Hoon Thien How-Teo Kok Siang in the doubles matches.

In the other semi-final, top seeds China will take on Indonesia.

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