NO MISBUN, NO PROBLEM

Players upbeat despite men’s singles coach not going to China

EVEN without coach Misbun Sidek by their side, Lee Zii Jia and Cheam June Wei are brimming with a can-do spirit at the Sudirman Cup in Nanning, China next week.

Misbun, the national men’s singles head coach, has decided not to make the trip and he will be replaced by Indonesian Indra Wijaya.

However, as Malaysia are in the same group with heavyweights China and India, there isn’t much expectation on Zii Jia and June Wei.

More so with former World No 1 Lee

Chong Wei not around as he is still recovering from nose cancer.

But Zii Jia, 21, and June Wei, 22, are ready to prove a point.

“Of course we would like to have coach Misbun with us but coach Indra is with us,” said Zii Jia, who is currently Malaysia’s highest ranked player in the world at No 20.

“At the end of the day, we are the ones who have to give our best on court.

“We are going into the competition as underdogs, so there’s really nothing to lose for us.

“China and India have got really strong men’s singles but if we can pull off an upset, it will help our team a lot,”

June Wei, on the other hand, could be Malaysia’s secret weapon, as he has yet to face any of the top players, who won’t really know what to expect from the Malaysian world No 91.

Ten-time champions China have confirmed that World No 2, Shi Yuqi and Olympic champion, Chen Long (World No 5) are in their squad.

India, the 2018 Commonwealth Games mixed team champions, boast the likes of K. Srikath (No 9) and Sameer Verma (No 13).

“In 2015, I was part of the team but I didn’t get to play. Last year at the Thomas Cup in Bangkok, I was part of the contingent as a sparring partner.

“Although we are a young squad, we are all burning with passion. It could be a good thing,” added June Wei.

Malaysia, who have yet to lift the Sudirman Cup since its inception in 1989, will open their campaign against China on Sunday.