Malaysia must break Indonesia’s stranglehold to gain upper hand

PETALING JAYA: Hit them where it hurts the most.

For Malaysia to stand a chance against defending champions Indonesia in the Thomas Cup Finals, they have to break the stranglehold of the men’s doubles, says former team captain Datuk Lee Chong Wei.

And three-time Olympic silver medallist Chong Wei has faith in skipper Aaron Chia to make a difference.

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The Finals will start on Sunday with the group action in Bangkok, Thailand. The top two teams will advance to the quarter-finals and on paper, Indonesia and Malaysia should make the cut.

Malaysia have lost to Indonesia in the quarter-finals of the last two editions in 2018 (Bangkok) and 2020 (Aarhus).

“Right now, Indonesia have the best men’s doubles pairs.

‘‘They have the quality and the quantity too,” said Chong Wei.

Indonesia may not have the services of Marcus Fernaldi, who forms the world No. 1 partnership with Kevin Sanjaya, but they still boast world No. 2 Mohammad Ahsan-Hendra Setiawan, Fajar Alfian-Rian Ardianto (8) and Shohibul Fikri-Bagas Maulana (20).

The crafty Kevin has been retained to add depth to the team.

“Aaron was in the team when I was the captain in 2018 in Bangkok. It was his first Thomas Cup but he had already showed good leadership qualities,” said Chong Wei.

“He was a fast learner and did not let the pressure get to him. As a senior and team captain, I believe Aaron can inspire the team to go far.”

Aaron and his partner Soh Wooi Yik had upset the formbook when they defeated Marcus-Kevin and Hendra-Ahsan for the first time en route to winning a bronze at the Tokyo Olympics last year.

The duo will be accompanied by Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi and Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani.

“We have three good pairs too but they must be extraordinary to take down the Indonesians. The Thomas Cup is special to Indonesia as it is to Malaysia. They are fighters and are highly motivated in a team event.”

In the singles, Indonesia’s Anthony Ginting, Jonatan Christie and Shesar Hiren are ranked higher than Lee Zii Jia, Liew Daren and Ng Tze Yong but there is a possibility to steal at least two points.

“The best chance is probably in the first singles, where we can depend on Zii Jia. And hopefully, the third singles can rise to the occasion too,” he added.

Indonesia have won the Thomas Cup 14 times while Malaysia have tasted success five times but the nation’s last victory was 30 years ago in 1992, where they defeated Indonesia 3-2 in the final.