Piala Thomas 1952 – Pertandingan Akhir – Malaya v. Amerika Syarikat
Pada tahun 1952, Malaya muncul sebagai juara Piala Thomas sekali lagi, mengalahkan Amerika Syarikat 7–2 di perlawanan akhir. Amerika Syarikat mara ke pentas akhir setelah menewaskan Kanada untuk mewakili zon Amerika, dan seterusnya India dalam perlawanan akhir antara zon. Mengikut peraturan kejohanan pada masa itu, Malaya hanya perlu bermain di peringkat akhir untuk mempertahankan kejuaraan mereka.
Sehari sebelum perlawanan akhir, skuad Amerika Syarikat berhadapan dengan halangan apablia Joe Alston dipanggil balik untuk kerja. Kini dengan lima pemain dalam pasukan mereka, Amerika Syarikat tidak mempunyai banyak masa untuk mengatur semula strategi mereka.
10,000 penonton menanti di Stadium Happy World untuk malam pertama pertandingan akhir. Wong Peng Soon dengan mudahnya mengesahkan kedudukan beliau sebagai pemain terbaik dunia dalam perlawanan pembukaan lawan Marten Mendez. Beliau mengalahkan Mendez 15-1, 15-10. Hanya lapan minit diperlukan untuk set pertama.
Pada perlawanan kedua, Ooi Teik Hock menewaskan Dick Mitchell 15-9, 15-11 dalam masa 24 minit. Namun, perlawanan beregu pertama menyaksikan kemenangan Amerika Syarikat yang pertama apabila Wynn Rogers & Bob Williams menumpaskan Chan Kon Leong & Abdullah Piruz 9-15, 18-16, 15-9. Malaya menekan permainan mereka semula setelah Ong Poh Lim & Ismail Marjan hanya memerlukan 13 minit untuk menewaskan Carl Loveday & Dick Mitchell 15-5, 15-4. Malaya mendahului 3–1 setelah hari pertama.
Keputusan daripada hari kedua adalah seperti berikut:
Wong Peng Soon v. Dick Mitchell
15-2, 15-5
Marten Mendez v. Ooi Teik Hock (menarik diri)
11-15, 15-10
Ong Poh Lim v. Bob Williams
15-1, 15-6
Chan Kon Leong & Abdullah Piruz v. Carl Loveday & Dick Mitchell
15-2, 15-2
Ismail Marjan & Ong Poh Lim v. Wynn Rogers & Bob Williams
15-12, 13-15, 15-12
Wong Peng Soon, Ong Poh Lim, dan pasangan beregu Chan Kon Leong & Abdullah Piruz membuahkan kemenangan untuk Malaya setelah mendominasi lawan masing-masing. Semasa perlawanan beliau, Ooi Teik Hock mengalami kekejangan di kaki kiri dan malangya terpaksa menarik diri. Walau bagaimanapun, ia mendorong pemain-pemain beregu Malaya untuk memastikan kemenangan mereka.
Pasukan Malaya dianugerahkan Piala Thomas buat kali kedua selepas menang 7–2. Piala tersebut diberi kepada pasukan pemenang oleh John L. Woods, penaung kanan BAM dan wakil IBF. Kemudian dalam minggu yang sama, bandar raya Singapura menganjurkan majlis sambutan pasukan Malaya. Majlis itu dihadiri oleh Sultan Perak dan Pahang, serta wakil daripada pertubuhan badminton Malaya.
#LegasiLagenda
#LegasiLegendaDikenangYangKiniDijulang
#SukanSatukanMalaysia
#integriti
#pengorbanan
#kesabaran
#ThomasCup
//
1952 Thomas Cup Finals – Malaya v. USA
In 1952, Malaya emerged as the Thomas Cup champions once again, defeating USA 7–2 at the end of the challenge round. USA secured their spot in the finals by first defeating Canada to represent the Americas, then India in the inter-zone final. In accordance with rules at the time, Malaya only had to play in the finals to defend their championship title.
USA were met with an unavoidable obstacle as one of their players, Joe Alston, was recalled to work a day before the finals. Now playing with only five men in their team, USA did not have much time to restrategise.
10,000 spectators await at Happy World Stadium for the first night of the challenge round. Wong Peng Soon easily confirmed his position as the world’s best player in his opening match with Marten Mendez, leading to a straight-set victory of 15-1, 15-10. The first set was only eight minutes long.
In the second match, Ooi Teik Hock defeated Dick Mitchell 15-9, 15-11 in 24 minutes. However, the first doubles match of the night saw the Americans win as Wynn Rogers & Bob Williams took out Chan Kon Leong & Abdullah Piruz 9-15, 18-16, 15-9. Malaya asserted their third win by having Ong Poh Lim & Ismail Marjan beat Carl Loveday & Dick Mitchell 15-5, 15-4 in 13 minutes. Malaya led 3–1 after the first day.
The results from day two are as follows:
Wong Peng Soon bt. Dick Mitchell
15-2, 15-5
Marten Mendez bt. Ooi Teik Hock (retired)
11-15, 15-10
Ong Poh Lim bt. Bob Williams
15-1, 15-6
Chan Kon Leong & Abdullah Piruz bt. Carl Loveday & Dick Mitchell
15-2, 15-2
Ismail Marjan & Ong Poh Lim bt. Wynn Rogers & Bob Williams
15-12, 13-15, 15-12
Wong Peng Soon, Ong Poh Lim and the doubles pair Chan Kon Leong & Abdullah Piruz scored easy wins for Malaya, dominating their opponents. During his match, Ooi Teik Hock suffered a cramp in his left foot and unfortunately had to retire. But it pushed the Malayan doubles players even further to secure their wins.
Malaya was awarded the Thomas Cup for a second time after a final score of 7–2. The Cup was presented to the winning team by John L. Woods, a senior patron of the BAM and a representative of the IBF. Later in the week, the city of Singapore hosted a reception to honour the Malayan team with the Sultans of Perak and Pahang in attendance, as well as representatives from Malaya’s badminton organisations.
