With the Thomas Cup set to go ahead next month in Aarhus, Denmark, Malaysian singles chief Hendrawan has asked fans to manage expectations on Lee Zii Jia.
Malaysia will face Indonesia, Holland and England in Group A of the team affair.
While Lee is expected to give the team the lead against the Europeans, he could be under the kosh against the speedy Anthony Sinisuka Ginting.
Hendrawan said he did not want fans to compare Lee against another Lee in Chong Wei, who won 24 of his 27 Thomas Cup matches since playing as first singles in 2006.
“We are all aware we cannot compare Zii Jia to Chong Wei at this point. Zii Jia has only started to play first singles since the Sudirman Cup last year. Since then, he led the team at the SEA Games in Philippines and Asia Team Championships.
“It will be different this time as he will take on tough opponents who are not just No. 1 in their countries, but also among the best in the world. If Zii Jia can pull off a win against top teams like Indonesia, China or Japan, it will give the team a tremendous boost.
“It would be even more than what Chong Wei could provide because a point from him was expected,” Hendrawan told The Star.
The world number 10 is out for several weeks after injuring his back at an internal tournament held two weeks ago, but he is expected to recover in time for the Thomas Cup.
Expectations are also high for Malaysia to do well at the Thomas Cup, on the back of their showing at the Asia Team Championships where they fell 3-1 to Indonesia in the final.
Malaysia last won the Thomas Cup in 1992 after they beat Indonesia 3-2, while the last time they made the final was in 2014, when they suffered a 2-3 loss to Japan.
Seng Foo Lee
Thu Sep 03 2020
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