SURPRISE CALL-UP FOR JUNE WEI?
World No. 61 tipped for Thomas Cup squad as Zii Jia and Tze Yong likely to be unavailable
INDEPENDENT shuttler Cheam June Wei is set to receive a surprise call-up for the Thomas Cup Finals in Chengdu from April 28 to May 5, highlighting BAM’s urgency in addressing the lack of depth in the men's singles department.
Malaysia, five-time winners but not since 1992, may enter the competition without the country's top two singles players.
World No. 11 Lee Zii Jia has expressed his desire to opt out while No. 18 Tze Yong is racing against time to regain his fitness after injuring his back.
The only other seemingly viable players for selection before the submission deadline on April 13 are young guns Justin Hoh and Eogene Ewe.
Last year's Indonesia International Challenge winner, Aidil Sholeh Ali Sadikin, is not being considered as he has already quit the national team and is currently serving as a sparring partner.
This situation has led to 27year-old June Wei, the world No. 61, being summoned to fill the void in the squad.
June Wei was seen training with the national team at the Akademi Badminton Malaysia on Friday, and men's singles coach Datuk Tey Seu Bock has confirmed that the former international is under consideration for selection.
Seu Bock, however, denied claims that June Wei only came onto BAM's radar following Zii
Jia's non-committal stance recently.
"It wasn't a last-minute decision. In fact we have invited the independent players, whom we think possibly fit the bill, to join the training squad way earlier," said Seu Bock, whilst confirming June Wei had just joined for the first day.
"June Wei is currently being evaluated to see if he's fit enough to make the squad. He's been training outside, we need to evaluate his current condition.”
June Wei last represented the country at the 2021 Thomas Cup Finals in Aarhus, Denmark, before being dropped from the national team months later.
June Wei did impress in a team event previously, playing a pivotal role in helping Malaysia finish runners-up to Indonesia at the 2020 Badminton Asia Team Championships.
He delivered important wins against former world No. 1 Son Wan Ho of South Korea and Kenta Nishimoto of Japan in the quarter-finals and semi-finals respectively, apart from pushing Jonatan Christie to three games during the final.
Meanwhile, Seu Bock acknowledged that the coaches have to take it on a "day-by-day" basis before they could come up with a decision to include Tze Yong.
"We're monitoring his situation and we have until April 13 to decide. Until then, everything is possible and we're keeping our options open,” said Seu Bock.