KUALA LUMPUR, April 11 — The riddle behind the country’s professional men’s singles ace Lee Zii Jia’s selection to the 2024 Thomas Cup Finals squad in Chengdu, China, will be unravelled tomorrow.
Akademi Badminton Malaysia (ABM) coaching director Rexy Mainaky said the coaches expect to announce the full line-up for the 2024 Thomas Cup tomorrow, a day before player registration closes on Saturday (April 13).
“Maybe (we) will announce (it on) Friday,” he said briefly to Bernama today.
Media reports earlier said Team LZJ is still discussing with the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) on including Lee in the 2024 Thomas Cup squad.
The 26-year-old shuttler also hopes that Team LZJ can achieve positive results in discussions with BAM.
The national men’s singles camp for the Thomas Cup faces a quandary as Lee has not given an answer as to whether he will be with the national squad to Chengdu while Ng Tze Yong is still recovering after undergoing surgery for a back injury he suffered recently.
If the two players are not in the 2024 Thomas Cup squad, Malaysia will bank on 2023 Kuala Lumpur Masters champion Leong Jun Hao and youngsters Justin Hoh and Eogene Ewe.
Last week, national men’s singles coach Datuk Tey Seu Bock said the coaching panel may consider roping in another professional player Cheam June Wei to join the national squad for the world’s most prestigious team badminton campaign.
He added that Cheam has started training at ABM in Bukit Kiara since Friday (April 5) and will be evaluated by the coaching panel before the final selection for the Thomas Cup Finals from April 27 to May 5.
Malaysia, seeded fifth in the Thomas Cup, are drawn in Group D with European champions and 2016 edition champions Denmark, Hong Kong, and Algeria.
— Bernama
