KUALA LUMPUR - National badminton legend Datuk Rashid Sidek expressed his hope that the national badminton line-up will be able to perform well in an effort to provide fierce resistance to other teams in the Badminton Asia Team Championships (BATC) 2022 in Shah Alam from Feb 15 to 20.
He also wants to see the players prove they can reduce the pressure of playing at the home ground as well as show great team spirit in the tournament which offers automatic spots in the 2022 Thomas Cup and Uber Cup Finals to be held in Bangkok, Thailand in May.
"I really hope they (Malaysian players) will spring surprises and obtain good results in the BATC 2022.
"However, we should not underestimate other teams such as Japan and Taiwan,” he told Bernama recently.
When asked on issues related to last year’s All England champion Lee Zii Jia who was embroiled in a dispute with the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) that has been amicably resolved, Rashid said that whether the players are professional players or under BAM, what is important is that they still represent the country and are able to win for the team.
Zii Jia has been picked as national first singles for the BATC 2022.
Apart from Zii Jia, five other shuttles, namely Ng Tze Yong, Aidil Sholeh Ali Sadikin, Leong Jun Hao, Lim Chong King and Jacky Kok Jing Hong to complete the line-up of national singles shuttlers for the biennial tournament.
Meanwhile, Tokyo Olympics 2020 bronze medallists Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik are set to lead compatriots Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani and Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun for the men’s doubles.
The women’s team comprises Eoon Qi Xuan, S Kisona, Tan Zhing Yi, Siti Nurshuhaini Azman, Myisha Mohd Khairul for singles and the doubles pairings of Pearly Tan-M Thinaah, Teoh Mei Xing-Anna Cheong, Valeree Siow-Low Yeen Yuan and Go Pei Kee.
Apart from Malaysia, the BATC 2022 which will take place at the Setia City Convention Centre in Shah Alam, will also see nine other teams - Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, India, Thailand, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Kazakhstan and Singapore - vying to confirm their automatic spots in the 2022 Thomas Cup and Uber Cup Finals to be held in Bangkok, Thailand in May. - BERNAMA