You happy are going down!
Vittinghus believes Denmark will be too strong for Chong Wei-led Malaysia
SHUTTLER Hans-Kristian Vittinghus has much respect for Malaysia but he thinks the team led by Lee Chong Wei are set to go down when they clash in the group stage.
Barring any upsets, the 32- year- old Vittinghus feels Denmark can pull off a 4-1 win.
The Thomas Cup Finals starts tomorrow at the Impact Arena in Bangkok but Denmark will only face off with Malaysia on Wednesday.
First, Denmark will open their campaign against Algeria on Monday while Malaysia meet Russia on the same day.
Vittinghus was Denmark’s hero when he clinched the winning point for his nation’s first-ever Thomas Cup in the final against Indonesia in Kunshan, China, two years ago. Denmark also defeated Malaysia 3-2 in the semi-finals.
“I think Malaysia, on paper, looked stronger two years ago. This year, we’ve a strong men’s singles line-up. On paper, we should win it 4-1,” Vittinghus said, adding that the outcome of the tie would depend very much on the first battle between Chong Wei and world champion Viktor Axelsen and the second between Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong and probably Mads Conrad-Petersen-Mads Peiler Kolding.
“Malaysia are strong in the first two matches. If Chong Wei wins and the doubles too, we’ll be under pressure,” said Vittinghus.
“I’ve respect for Malaysia and we can lose too if we don’t play our cards right but on paper, we have a stronger team and we must go into the Finals with this confidence.”
Denmark have retained the same winning team except for one player – they have dropped Emil Holst and replaced him with Anders Antonsen, who will play as the second singles.
“I’ll be playing as the third singles and there’s also the option of fielding Jan (O Jorgensen), who is back from injury. We can mix it up,” said Vittinghus, who insists his return to the Finals team after two years is not due to the lure of money.
“We’ve heard of teams getting land, car and money for winning the Thomas Cup but we did not get anything except for bonuses of 1,000 dollars each for winning the Cup – that’s it,” he said with a smile.
“For us, it’s not the money or fame. The whole nation celebrated because we broke the curse – after having lost in eight finals.
“Of course, it would have been nice to get a house or what not, but it’s not like that in Denmark and it’ll never be like that.
“I’m happy to be back and help the team win again – it’s nice to see the sport growing in my country and that’s satisfying.”