Chengdu: As expected, Malaysia’s Thomas Cup squad cruised to a decisive victory over Algeria in the second Group D tie held in Chengdu, China on Sunday, thereby booking a slot in the quarterfinals of the biennial championships.
Men’s singles player Lee Zii Jia only required 26 minutes to secure Malaysia’s first point after defeating Adel Hamek 21-8, 21-6, before second singles player Cheam June Wei also comfortably dispatched Youcef Sabri Medel 21-9, 21-14.
Highlights of 2024 Thomas Cup Finals: Cheam June Wei (Malaysia) vs. Youcef Sabri Medel (Algeria) in Second Group D Tie:
The momentum at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium continued with the men’s doubles pair of Choong Hon Jian/Muhammad Haikal, who secured Malaysia’s third point after defeating the pair of Sifeddine Larbaoui/Mohamed Abdelaziz Ouchfoun 21-8, 21-3 in just 17 minutes.
In men’s singles, Justin Hoh defeated Mohamed Abderrahime Belarbi, ranked 353rd in the world, 21-10, 21-14 to secure the fourth point for the team before Nur Izzuddin, paired with Soh Wooi Yik this time, sealed a 5-0 victory for the team by defeating Koceila Mammeri/Youcef Sabri Medel 21-13, 21-9.
The national Thomas Cup squad is scheduled to conclude the group stage competition against the 2016 champions, Denmark, on Tuesday, which will be the deciding match for the group champion.
For the record, in the campaign two years ago in Bangkok, Malaysia ended the Thomas Cup competition in the quarterfinals after losing to the defending champions, India, 2-3.
Meanwhile, Malaysia’s Uber Cup team suffered a 1-4 defeat to Taiwan in the first Group B tie.
The equalizing point secured by the women’s doubles team, Go Pei Kee-Teoh Mei Xing, failed to boost the motivation of the national Uber Cup squad as they suffered a 1-4 defeat to Taiwan in the first match of Group B earlier today.
After Goh Jin Wei, ranked 32nd in the world, lost 19-21, 20-22 to Tai Tzu Ying in 33 minutes, and although Taiwan took a 1-0 lead, it did not dampen the spirits of Go Pei Kee/Teoh Mei Xing to rally the team.
Go/Teoh managed to defeat their opponents, ranked 24th in the world, Hsu Ya Ching/Lin Wan Ching, with a straight-set victory of 21-19, 21-17, thus leveling the score at 1-1.
“I didn’t feel any pressure (after Jin Wei’s loss). There was a roar, but I rose and tried to calm myself down, focusing only on doing my best in the court,” said Go Pei Kee.
Meanwhile, Go Pei Kee’s doubles partner and the captain of the Malaysia Uber Cup squad, Teoh Mei Xing, considered their equalizing point to help keep the team motivated.
“I think it’s very important because everyone is a junior and it’s their first time. If the opponent takes a 1-0 or 2-0 lead, they will enter the court with more pressure. So if we (her and Pei Kee) can get a point, it’s something good to boost the team’s spirits,” said Teoh Mei Xing.
