KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia should not get too excited about the draw for the Thomas Cup, scheduled from April 28 to May 5 in Chengdu, China.
Malaysia are in Group D with Denmark, Hong Kong, and Algeria.
Speaking to Scoop, former world number 1 men’s singles player Roslin Hashim said Denmark is the main challenger for the country in the group, but Hong Kong should not be taken lightly.
Especially with the dearth of talent in the men’s singles department for the country.
“Ng Tze Yong is out with an injury and besides him, only Lee Zii Jia is the other strong singles player that we have.
“The performance of players from Hong Kong is not too far away from our players, so we need to beware of them.
“We can challenge both Denmark and Hong Kong. However, the issue is besides Zii Jia, we only have the likes of Eogene Ewe Eon, Leong Jun Hao, and Justin Hoh.
“We don’t know what their level of performance is right now,” said Roslin when contacted.
The Danes will surely call upon top men’s singles duo Anders Antonsen and reigning Olympic gold medalist Viktor Axelsen to lead the way.
The two-time Thomas Cupper added that it would be difficult for Malaysia to top the group as Denmark are too strong in the singles.
Roslin believes the European powerhouse can win all three singles ties or win two and take one doubles tie.
“Second place is more realistic for us, but we must compete with Hong Kong.
“I see us as just a slight favourite over Hong Kong, 60-40.
“There is only a month left to do the final preparations, so it is up to the players and coaches to see what needs to be tweaked at the last minute.
“The players also need to start bonding to create a healthy team spirit so they can support each other during the tournament,” said Roslin.
Meanwhile, in the last edition held in 2022 in Bangkok, Malaysia’s campaign was ended in the quarter-finals by India, who went on to make history by clinching their first title after defeating Indonesia 3-0 in the final. – March 24, 2024