(*Credit image: The Star Online)
The draw for the E-Plus Badminton Asia Team Championships has been made and hosts Malaysia were drawn in a challenging Group C together with Chinese Taipei, Thailand and Myanmar.
Malaysia, however, believe the draw not only favours them for a top two place in the group to advance to the knockout stage and a place in the quarter-finals but the semi-finals is also within their reach.
The top four teams (semi-finalists) will gain an automatic berth in this year's Thomas Cup Finals to be held in Bangkok from May 20-27.
Badminton Association of Malaysia honorary-secretary Datuk Ng Chin Chai, however, is wary of neighbours Thailand.
Chin Chai dubbed Thailand as the "dark horse" in the group and could upset the scenario in the battle for a top two spot in Group C.
"We have a good draw with Chinese Taipei as the top seed of our group but we have a good chance to beat them.
However, Thailand remains as the dark horse," said Chin Chai, who has also been named as team manager for the Thomas Cup squad.
Singles head coach Datuk Misbun Sidek is equally optimistic in his team's quest for top four finish in the Asian meet which will be held at the Sultan Abdul Halim Stadium in Alor Setar from Feb 6-11.
"We can top the group and avoid teams like defending champions Indonesia, top seeds China or Japan in the quarter-finals.
This will enhance our semi-final hopes.
"The draw has been made and we have to be prepared for the challenge in Alor Setar.
We have to grab the opportunity and play our strategies right…but the Thais could be a stumbling block," said Misbun.
The E-Plus Badminton Asia championships will be decided on three singles and two doubles.
The group stage will be decided on a round robin format from Feb 6-8 with the top two teams from each group qualifying for the knockout stage.
A new draw will be made for the quarter-finals.
Malaysia are led by world No 2 Datuk Lee Chong Wei in the singles while in the doubles Malaysia have recalled Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong, the Rio Olympics silver medallists. The pair were separated about four months ago.
The Malaysian Team
Singles
Datuk Lee Chong Wei; Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin; Lee Zii Jia; Soong Joo Ven
Doubles
Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong; Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi; Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani
