Misbun to announce Thomas Cup players at end of year

PETALING

JAYA: National singles head coach Misbun Sidek (pic) will wait until end of the year before naming the men’s singles players for the Thomas Cup qualifying tournament.

The qualifiers will take place during the Asia Team Championships in Alor Setar from Feb 6-11, 2018. The Finals will be held in Bangkok, Thailand, from May 20-27.

He said that he would use the last four tournaments, including the ongoing Celcom Axiata Malaysian International Challenge in Johor Baru, to finalise the squad.

The men’s singles shuttlers will also compete in the India International Series (Hyderabad, Nov 23-26); Korea Masters Grand Prix Gold (Gwangju City, Nov 28-Dec 3); and India International Challenge (Mumbai, Nov 29-Dec 3).

“All our back-up singles players have potential and about the same standard. We’ll see how they handle the pressure in the next few tournaments,” said Misbun.

“The selection of players will not be based on world ranking alone. I’m also looking at their commitment in training.”

Misbun is pleased with the players’ ability to cope with his training programme.

“They’re able to grasp the module of my training. They’re showing better understanding when asked to do certain strokes and moves during training. I’m happy to see that maturity in them,” he said.

Except for world No. 7 Lee Chong Wei, who is confirmed of a spot, the others will have to fight for the three remaining slots for the Thomas Cup qualifiers.

They are Lee Zii Jia (world No. 46), Soong Joo Ven (No. 61), Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin (No. 63), Lim Chi Wing (No. 92), Cheam June Wei (No. 109), Soo Teck Zhi (No. 118), Tan Jia Wei (No. 123), Chong Yee Han (NO. 172) and Leong Jun Hao (No. 319).