Ten-day get-together for Thomas-Uber Cup players
News 10:26 AM
KUALA LUMPUR: A centralised training camp for the players in the squads for the Thomas-Uber Cup Finals will be held in Bukit Jalil from April 28-May 7 and several interesting team-building activities are in store for the players. The Finals will be played in Jakarta from May 11-18.
National chief coach Yap Kim Hock said that they had decided on the core players of the teams but would wait until April 20 to name them.
“We (the coaches) met today. Except for the fourth slot in the men's singles and the women doubles pairs, we are sure of the others in the teams for the Finals. But we need to get approval from the BAM (Badminton Association of Malaysia) before naming them,” said Kim Hock after the meeting at Gymnasium II in Bukit Jalil yesterday.
He added that they had decided to name four singles players and three doubles pairs for both the Thomas Cup and Uber Cup teams.
The top three ranked men's singles players are Lee Chong Wei, Wong Choong Hann and Mohd Hafiz Hashim while the three doubles pairs are Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong, Choong Tan Fook-Lee Wan Wah and Mohd Faizurizizuan Mohd Tazari-Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif.
The India Open this week and the Asian championships (ABC) in Johor Baru from April 15-20 will be used to determine the fourth men's singles player in the side. And those in contention for the berth are Yeoh Kay Bin, Nusa Mahsuri's Mohd Roslin Hashim and KLRC Bhd's Lee Tsuen Seng and Sairul Amar Ayob.
The squad for the Uber Cup will have Wong Mew Choo, Julia Wong, Anita Raj Kaur and Lydia Cheah and the doubles pair of Chin Eei Hui-Wong Pei Tty. The other doubles players up for selection are Mooi Hing Yau, Ooi Yu Hang, Fong Chew Yen, Ng Hui Lin, Goh Liu Ying, Woon Khe Wei and Lim Pek Siah.
Kim Hock said that the centralised camp was to strengthen team unity.
“The team building camp will be held on May 4 and 5. We could go to Taman Negara but it all depends on what the coaches want. We plan to have several other team building activities. The coaches will have to get back to me (next week Monday) on their plans,” he said.
“The selected players will go through fitness test. We want players who are willing to work together as a team. We want to do well in the Finals.”
Expectations are higher on the men to do well in the Finals. The hope is on them to end the country's 16-year wait for the Cup, which Malaysia last won in the 1992 Finals in Kuala Lumpur.
Posted by Lucas Liau
on 10:26 AM.
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