KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia stands a chance of winning this year’s Thomas Cup if the players play as a team and not dwell on their personal performances.
Speaking to The Vibes, former Badminton Association of Malaysia high-performance director Datuk James Selvaraj said playing as a team will be the key factor for Malaysia to win the Thomas Cup, which they last won in 1992.
“They must play for each other and not just focus on individual wins. It’s a team tournament, each win matters for the next player and will boost their morale.”
The Thomas Cup and Uber Cup tourney starts tomorrow until May 15 as the world’s top shuttlers take the court at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand.
Malaysia is placed in Group D with 2014 champions Japan, England, and the US which replaced New Zealand recently. New Zealand were forced to pull out from the Thomas Cup after some members of the team tested positive for Covid-19.
James believes that Malaysia will not have problems beating England and the US, and should make it to the next round as Japan are their only tough challenge.
“Our players can beat England and the US but will need to be careful against Japan.
“It will be great to see world No. 2 Kento Momota going up against Lee Zii Jia, as both players have had a fair share of victory against each other in recent times. It will be a battle of the powerhouses.
“The players should come out the gates strong and try to win each series as quickly as possible. It is important they give it their all and not play half-heartedly,” said James.
Youngsters Ng Tze Yong and Aidil Sholeh will be looking to make their mark at the top level after performing well during the Asia Team Championships earlier this year.
For the double’s pairings, world number seven Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik and German Open winners Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin will also be looking to shine and push the men’s team to victory.
In the last Thomas Cup in Denmark, Malaysia were knocked out by eventual champions Indonesia. It was Indonesia’s 14th title.
Malaysia has won the Thomas Cup five times and made it into the finals on 14 occasions. They will be looking to reclaim the title this year with a revamped and fresh squad going into the tournament.
Meanwhile, in the Uber Cup, Malaysia will be going up against Thailand, Denmark, and Egypt in Group C.
It is going to be an uphill task for the Malaysian girls as Denmark and Thailand are the favourites to go into the next round.
James said the women shuttlers will need to bring their A-game to the tournament if they wish to have any chance of winning the Cup.
“Players need to shake off the fear they have and go onto the court with a fierce mindset.
“Let the past stay in the past, this is a new tournament and a new chance to show the world what Malaysia can do,” said James.
Malaysia previously lost to Denmark 4-1 in the group stages during the last edition of the tournament held in Aarhus.
24-year-old S. Kisona will once again lead the women’s contingent alongside Goh Jin Wei, Eoon Qi Xuan, Myisha Mohd Khairul, Tan Zhing Yi, and Chan Wen Tse.
They will have it difficult going against top players such as world number eight Thai shuttler Ratchanok Intanon, 10th seed Pornpawee Chochuwong, 14th ranked Dane Mia Blichfeldt and doubles pair Jongkolphan Kititharakul-Rawinda Prajongjai from Thailand. – The Vibes, May 7, 2022
Match schedules as below:
Thomas Cup
May 9 – Monday
10am: Malaysia vs England
May 10 – Tuesday
3pm: Malaysia vs US
May 11 – Wednesday
8pm: Malaysia vs Japan
Uber Cup
May 8 – Sunday
3pm: Malaysia vs Denmark
May 9 – Monday
3pm: Malaysia vs Thailand
May 10 – Tuesday
8pm: Malaysia vs Egypt
