Shot in the arm for singles duo
Liew and Soong among eight indies called up for Thomas Cup squad
Liew Daren and Soong Joo Ven’s hopes of making the squad for the Thomas Cup Finals have been handed a tremendous boost.
The duo are among eight independent shuttlers invited to join the national team training at the Academy Badminton Malaysia (ABM) from July 15.
“We have shortlisted doubles pair Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong and Ong Yew Sin-Ee Yi, mixed pair Chan Peng Soon and Goh Liu Ying and singles players Liew Daren and Soong Joo Ven for the joint training,” confirmed national coaching director Wong Choong Hann yesterday.
BAM president Datuk Seri Norza Zakaria had said that the shuttlers who receive the invitation are those who are most likely to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics and deemed the best available to strengthen the Thomas Cup squad.
Hence it is safe to say that except for mixed pair Peng Soon-Liu Ying, who are on course to qualify for the Olympics, the other six are now in the running for a place in the 10-man Thomas Cup team.
The news will come as a relief especially for world No. 41 Daren and No. 67 Joo Ven who were left out of the Asia Team Championships in Manila in February despite being the second and third highest ranked players in the country.
BAM instead opted for a line-up of national players comprising world No. 10 Lee Zii Jia, Cheam June Wei (No. 74), Leong Jun Hao (No. 157) and Ng Tze Yong (No. 134).
The 32-year-old Daren is hoping to make amends at the Thomas Cup after the heartbreaking 3-2 defeat to Japan in the final of the 2014 edition in New Delhi.
Then, Daren blew his chance to become a national hero when he was beaten by Takuma Ueda in the third singles decider.
Joo Ven, 25, on the other hand, is seeking to make his debut in Aarhus, Denmark.
Now that Daren and Joo Ven will be training full-time at the ABM, they will be eager to make the most of it to impress as the selection for three doubles pairs would be a tough call.
World No. 14 V Shem-Wee Kiong and world No. 15 Yew Sin-Ee Yi are currently the second and third best-ranked combinations in the country behind world No. 9 Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik.
The BAM will also have the option of naming world No. 28 Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani as the fourth pair.