PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s men’s badminton team will open their Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games campaign against Mongolia in the first round on Monday (Sept 21).
Only four teams – Indonesia, China, Taiwan and Japan – were seeded in the draw conducted on Saturday (Sept 19), with all four receiving first-round byes.
Malaysia, who are ranked sixth, should fancy their chances against Mongolia but a much tougher test awaits in the quarter-finals, where five-time champions Indonesia will be waiting if they advance.
The women’s team, meanwhile, will mark their return to the Asian Games after a 12-year absence with a first-round tie against Hong Kong on Sunday (Sept 20).
Malaysia last featured in the women’s team event at Incheon 2014 and will be hoping to make their comeback count by booking a place in the quarter-finals.
The tie could be an intriguing one as Hong Kong are now led by former Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) coaching director Wong Choong Hann.
Choong Hann is also assisted by fellow Malaysians Jeremy Gan, Tan Bin Shen and Loh Wei Sheng.
