SHAH ALAM – Independent men’s singles player Lee Zii Jia is expected to be rested in the opening two matches for Malaysia in the Badminton Asia Team Championships (BATC), which is scheduled to kickstart tomorrow at the Setia City Convention Centre.
National badminton coaching director Rexy Mainaky said that his coaching team has yet to finalise the lineup for the men’s singles players for the tournament, with Zii Jia probably being fielded in the final crucial group match against the formidable Taiwan side.
“There was a discussion that took place with the singles coaching team, and we haven’t decided who will be fielded in the opening match. Maybe Zii Jia might play in the opening two matches, and it’s up to him if he wants to play and adapt to the court.
“Not only for the men’s singles players, we still haven’t decided on who will be fielded in the men’s doubles category as well. We will definitely have a meeting tomorrow morning to decide whether we are going to use the senior or junior players for the opening two matches against Brunei and Kazakhstan.
“For now, all the players are in good condition. It’s just that the men’s doubles players had some stiffness during our previous training sessions. But things have improved, and they have been sparring well this morning.
“Ng Tze Yong has yet to fully recover from his injury, and Leong Jun Hao was unwell with flu today.
“However, Zii Jia looks sharp in training and has been showing a lot of progress today,” said when met after the test court session at Setia City Convention Centre.
The 56-year-old, himself an Olympic gold medalist in the 1996 Atlanta Games, further said that he is hoping for his charges to do well in the group stages of the tournament by finishing in the top spot with maximum points.
“We can’t say that we are better than Brunei or Kazakhstan. For me, what matters the most is the number of points that we can get in each match. Winning 5-0 in both matches will, of course, be my preference.
“Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) is going to be the toughest opponent in the group, but we should prepare ourselves for team events like this. We all know our advantages and disadvantages, so it will be a 50-50 match against such a formidable team,” Rexy added.
Akademi Badminton Malaysia (ABM) will be fielding its strongest lineup for the BATC 2024 challenge by listing national men’s singles champions Zii Jia, Tze Yong, Jun Hao, and Eogene Ewe Eon for the singles category.
The men’s team, seeded fourth in the tournament, will battle Brunei (tomorrow), Kazakhstan (February 14), and Chinese Taipei (February 15) in Group B.
In men’s doubles, Malaysia will be represented by 2022 world champions Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani, and Choong Hon Jian-Muhammad Haikal Nazri.
For the women’s squad, Goh Jin Wei, K. Letshanaa, Wong Ling Ching, and Siti Nurshuhaini Azman will lead the challenge in singles, while top pairs Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah, Teoh Mei Xing-Go Pei Kee, and Low Yeen Yuan-Tan Zhing Yi will feature in doubles.
The Badminton Association of Malaysia has set a target of reaching at least the semi-finals for the national squad at the tournament.
In 2022, the Malaysian men’s team clinched their maiden team title – while the women’s team secured their place in the Uber Cup Finals on merit after reaching the semi-finals.
The top four teams from both the men’s and women’s events will qualify for the Thomas and Uber Cup Finals in China from April 28 to May 5. – February 12 ,2024