Handy mind games
IT will be only his second appearance in the Thomas Cup Finals but Malaysia’s top singles star Lee Zii Jia is game for a stretch with top seeds Indonesia. And he’s already limbering up with some mind games ahead of their group clash in Aarhus, Denmark.
We’re also under pressure but they will feel it more as they are heading to the tournament with the aim of winning it.
Lee Zii Jia
Lee Zii Jia will be making only his second appearance in the Thomas Cup Finals but the Malaysian No. 1 singles star sure knows a thing or two about mind games.
The 22-year-old has unashamedly announced that it is top seeds Indonesia who are feeling the pressure ahead of the clash between the two arch-rivals in Group A of the Finals in Aarhus, Denmark, from Oct 3-11.
The two teams are expected to dominate the top two spots in the group together with
England and Holland.
On paper, Indonesia are the overwhelming favourites not only to top the group but also to reclaim the coveted trophy that eluded them since 2002.
Indonesia are expected to head to Aarhus with a star-studded squad that include three men’s doubles pairs in the top six – world No. 1 Marcus Fernaldi Gideon-Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo, No. 2 Mohammad Ahsan-Hendra Setiawan and No. 6 Fajar Alfian-Muhammad Rian Ardianto.
Their singles line-up is just as formidable with the likes of Anthony Ginting (No. 6), Jonatan Christie (No. 7) and Shesar Hiren Rhustavito (No. 18).
Malaysia have been on the losing side in three recent meetings dating back to 2018.
After being defeated in the quarter-finals of the last Finals in Bangkok two years ago, Malaysia lost in the team final of last December’s Philippines SEA Games and the Asia Team Championships, also in Manila, in February.
“We’re the dark horse for the Finals, so I think the pressure is not on us,” said Zii Jia, when asked about the highly-anticipated match against the 13-time winners Indonesia.
“We’re also under pressure but they will feel it more as they are heading to the tournament with the aim of winning it.”
However, as the Aarhus Finals draws closer, Zii Jia is still sceptical about whether it’s safe to travel and return to competition despite the Badminton World Federation (BWF) putting up a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) in place.
“I hope that the BWF will do whatever it takes to protect the players so that we can fully focus on playing,” he said.