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Malaysia's home "dis-advantage" ahead of Denmark Thomas Cup shoot-out

Kuala Lumpur, May 15 (AFP) - Malaysia's badminton players will crack under the pressure of their raucous home support in Tuesday's winner-takes-all Thomas Cup showdown with Denmark, the Danes' coach predicted.

In two lacklustre displays in the world team championships event - a 3-2 defeat against South Korea and a wobbly 4-1 win over India - the Malaysians have been rattled by their partisan fans at the Putra Stadium.

And Danish coach Thomas Lund believes the Malaysians will wilt once again when his history-chasing team led by world number one Peter Gade and Olympic champion Poul-Erik Hoyer takes on the hosts in the decisive Blue Group battle.

"The pressure is all going to be on them.I think they have been distracted or maybe made a bit nervous by the home crowd, sometimes that can happen," Lund said.

"I think that is why we have a good chance of winning on Tuesday.The Malaysians are feeling the pressure and that has shown so far in their matches. Malaysia's below-par showing has also been hammered in the local media, with headlines on Monday after the India win varying from "Pathetic" and "No Big Deal" to "You can't go on like this. Malaysia manager Al-Amin Majid acknowledged the home support had been a factor in his team's campaign.

"For many of the team this is the first time they have represented Malaysia in Malaysia.So it's a new experience playing in conditions like these," he said.

"But they have to condition themselves to the fact that this is part and parcel of the game at this level.They have to accept it and cope with it," he added."But we are still in with a chance against Denmark.All is not lost. Danish coach Lund may have been keen to heap the pressure on the hosts but his team, which is seeking to become the first European side to lift the trophy, will also be sweating on the result.

To reach the semi-finals, Denmark must beat the Malaysians after suffering an upset 3-2 loss against South Korea on Sunday.

"We knew South Korea would be difficult but I'm confident we can beat the Malaysians because our pairs are playing better than theirs," he said.


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