PETALING JAYA: Malaysia are taking the redraw for the team event at the World Junior Championships in Cairo in their stride ahead of today’s opening matches.
The draw had to be redone on Saturday after Macau and Nigeria withdrew at the last minute, forcing organisers to rearrange the groups.
Malaysia were initially placed in Group A1 with Algeria and Austria, but after the redraw, they remained in the same group and will now face Poland and Slovenia at the Cairo Stadium Indoor Hall Complex.
If Malaysia finish top of the group, they will then meet the winners of Group A2 in a playoff for a place in the quarter-finals.
Team manager Datuk Vincent Chin said the change in opponents has not shaken Malaysia’s hopes of returning home with a medal.
Malaysia will also be looking to go further than they did at the previous edition in Guwahati, India, where their campaign ended in the quarter-finals against China.
“If you look at the previous draw, it was a little easier because we were up against African teams, but for me this draw is still okay.
“This time, we will be facing European teams in Poland and Slovenia.
“Based on the draw, we are targeting the quarter-finals, but at the very least, we want a medal. What colour, we don’t know, but hopefully the team can bring one home,” said Vincent.
At the same time, junior doubles coach Hazwan Jamaluddin hinted that Malaysia could make some changes to their pairings, with only Ahmad Redzuan Zulawaqqarizal-Low Zi Yu expected to remain together.
Malaysia will head into the mixed team event as the top seeds.
“We want them to fight until the end. Winning or losing comes second. What matters is that they keep trying.
“So far, I can see that they are trying to win and they are fighting back,” Hazwan.
