Rashid Sidek is positive that Malaysian squad can beat Korean team in Thomas Cup Qualifying Round
Malaysia’s Singles national coach, Rashid Sidek, is hopeful that Malaysian squad can beat Korean team in the group match of Thomas Cup Qualifying Round, which is scheduled to take place in Macau from February 13-19.
Korea is the second seed in the tournament and the team seems to be far stronger on paper than the Malaysian squad as they have best shuttlers in the arena of badminton, particularly in Men’s Doubles category.
However, it is not impossible for Malaysian shuttlers to overpower the Koreans as Men’s Singles World Number One Lee Chong Wei and Men’s Doubles World Number Six Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong will be fighting for glory.
According to coach, Chong Wei will not have any problem in winning his first Men’s Singles fight and will earn the opening point which will put pressure on Korea’s Doubles pairs.
Nevertheless, the coach also said that Koreans are far stronger in Men’s Doubles category but Koo Kien and Tan Boon can beat them if they play at their best.
Malaysia needs to achieve one ticket in the top four positions in qualifying round if they want to qualify for the Thomas Cup Finals, which are scheduled to be held in May, at Wuhan, China.
While talking about the prospects of Malaysia against Korea, the coach said that besides the opening victory of Chong Wei, the other players need to win at least one point in Men’s Doubles category and one point in the Men’s Singles battles.
He said, “South Korea are very strong in the doubles and the key to scoring an upset win over them is for one of our doubles pairs to steal a point. Even then, we definitely need two points from the singles, so Hafiz or Daren will have to deliver the goods, just like Chong Wei.”
He further added, “This is our best chance because their second singles Park Sung-hwan is just recovering from an injury and may not be fully fit.”
Rashid is quite optimistic that if Malaysian shuttlers play to their full potential, they can pull through in their fight against the second seeded Korean team.
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