PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s advantage in the singles would give them the edge against South Korea if the two teams meet in the later stages of the Thomas Cup Finals in Chengdu, China.
In the group stages starting tomorrow, Malaysia are in Group D with Denmark, Hong Kong, and Algeria, while South Korea are with China, Canada, and Australia in Group A.
If both teams make it out of the group and a matchup between them happens, former legend Datuk Rashid Sidek believes Malaysia should have the upper hand.
“There’s a good chance for us because the South Korean singles aren’t very strong. If Lee Zii Jia can get the win at the start that would be even better,” he said.
South Korea’s best chance in the singles would be through world No. 47 Jeon Hyeok-jin, who won the Azerbaijan International in February but hasn’t had similar luck in other outings this year.
Their next shuttler is further down the ranks as Cho Geon-yeop, ranked 120th, would likely play world No. 37 Leong Jun Hao.
If the match is dragged until the final singles fixture, it would possibly see 64rd-ranked Cheam June Wei take on world No. 123 Lee Yun-gyu, which shouldn’t be too tough for June Wei as the South Korean has only played in two tournaments this year.
But Rashid noted that if the two countries meet in the knockout stage, the challenge would come in the doubles department as South Korea have the reigning world champions in Kang Min-hyuk-Seo Seung-jae.
Although world No. 2 Min-hyuk-Seung-jae lost to Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani at the Asian Championships, Rashid said it would still be wise to field world No. 5 Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik against them.
“It would be a risk to put Sze Fei-Izzuddin against them. What if the second pair are suddenly not strong?
“It’s better to field the players according to their rankings, and set the matches based on strength-to-strength comparison,” he said.
Rising doubles pair Choong Hon Jian-Mohd Haikal Nazri are also in the squad heading to Chengdu and will be making their Thomas Cup Finals debut along with singles player Justin Hoh.
