KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia’s number one men’s singles player, Lee Zii Jia, acknowledges that his team cannot afford to be complacent despite successfully overcoming the initial hurdle by defeating Hong Kong in the opening match of Group D of the Thomas Cup today.
In the action at the Hi Tech Zone Sports Centre, Chengdu, Zii Jia once again demonstrated why he deserves to don the national jersey by overcoming Lee Cheuk Yiu in straight sets, contributing the first point for Malaysia.
The outcome further boosted the morale of the Malaysian players, with Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, Leong Jun Hao, Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzudin, and debutant Justin Hoh all performing excellently to defeat their respective opponents, securing a 5-0 victory for Malaysia.
On paper, Malaysia has a bright chance of advancing to the quarter-finals as they will face the Algerian team tomorrow, which will make its third appearance in the tournament since 2018.
Moreover, Algeria has only listed six players for this competition, namely Mohamed Abderrahime Belarbi, Adel Hamek, Sifedine Larbaoui, Koceila Mammeri, Youcef Sabri Medel, and Mohamed Abdelaziz Ouchefoun, all of whom have much lower rankings compared to the Malaysian players.
However, Zii Jia reminded them not to underestimate their opponents but to always be prepared, considering that their real opponents are Denmark for the final match of Group D on Tuesday.
“Definitely, I felt pressure before stepping into the arena because I knew how important the points from my side were for this match, but now I feel relieved.
“Relaxed, but not too relaxed, because we still have a match against Denmark later, and surely it will be a tougher battle compared to Hong Kong,” said Zii Jia.
At the same time, Zii Jia revealed that he did not have any specific tactics when facing Cheuk Yiu today, even though coach Wong Tat Meng had previously coached him during his tenure as the Hong Kong national coach in 2023.
Before today’s match, Cheuk Yiu had a psychological advantage as he had won two out of three previous encounters against Zii Jia.
“Overall, I feel okay with my performance as long as I managed to defeat him (Cheuk Yiu) earlier. There were no special strategies, even though Tat Meng is with me now and Wong Choong Hann is coaching them.
“Tat Meng did discuss with me before the match, but there were no secret strategies. For me, the key to my victory is self confidence because Cheuk Yiu and I have met several times,” he added. – April 27, 2024