PETALING JAYA: K. Letshanaa has a chance to justify her status as the country's top singles shuttler when Malaysia take on Turkiye in the opening Group B tie of the Uber Cup Finals.
The world No. 34 Letshanaa will likely meet world No. 30 Neslihan Arin in the opening match at the Horsens Forum, Horsens today.
Letshanaa had beaten Neslihan once at the Uganda International Challenge but it was in 2023.
Neslihan had shown marked improvement is currently ranked higher than the Malaysian.
Letshanaa believes Malaysia have a realistic shot to make the quarter-finals, but only if they stay sharp throughout.
"I do believe we have the chance to enter the quarters, but the competition is not something we can afford to take lightly," said the 22-year-old.
"We can’t take it easy and have to give it all for every match."
Making her Uber Cup debut, Letshanaa said arriving early in Denmark had been beneficial.
"It’s good that we flew earlier. We adapted to the conditions well and feel confident," said Letshanaa.
Letshanaa are joined by Wong Ling Ching, Goh Jin Wei, and Siti Zulaika Azmi (singles), while the doubles pairs are Carmen Ting-Ong Xin Yee, Low Zi Yu-Noraqilah Maisarah Ramdan, captain M. Thinaah and debutant Chong Jie Yu, who was brought in to replace an injured Pearly Tan.
Others in the group are six-time champions Japan and South Africa in Group B, with only the top two teams advancing to the knockout stage.
"Japan will be the toughest opponents, that’s for sure," she admitted.
"But if there’s a chance, we would really want to upset them. If that’s not possible, we will still give it our best."
Malaysia will face South Africa tomorrow before wrapping up their group fixtures against Japan on Monday.
