Malaysian badminton player, Lee Chong Wei, said he was not interested to follow the Thomas Cup qualifiers to be held in Hyderabad, India, 15 to 21 February. “If given the choice, I ask not to be revealed in the Thomas Cup qualifiers. The goal, so the players do not rely on me on the championship team. It is time for young players performed,” Lee said, as reported by the Messenger Online, Wednesday ( 13/01/2016 ), According to Lee, the young players it’s time Malaysia took on responsibility at a major tournament. Lee is currently choosing to concentrate to keep his physical condition ahead of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games
“I am currently focusing prepare to perform at the All England and Swiss Open,” said Lee. “However, the decision is not in my hands. It all depends on the Badminton Association of Malaysia ( BAM ) to determine what is best,” said Lee after practice at Stadium Juara, Bukit Kiara. For Lee, this is the first time she did not strengthen the team Thomas Malaysia since 2004 in Indonesia. Without the senior players, Malaysia will rely on young players who have never played in the Thomas Cup before. If Lee does not appear in the Thomas Cup qualifiers, Malaysia will be difficult to qualify for the Thomas Uber Cup finals to be held in Khunsan, China on 15-22 May.
Thomas cup a prestigious match. (Source:www.antaranews.com) Facts show that the Malaysian Thomas Cup squad currently not as strong as in 2014. This year, Malaysia has not had a national player on the world level in addition to Lee. Coach Lee, Hendrawan, agreed that their players do not necessarily appear in the Thomas Cup qualifiers.
“I know many who want Chong Wei appeared in the Thomas Cup qualifiers. However, we need to look at the physical condition who are not young anymore. If he is injured, it took a long time for recovery,” said Hendrawan. “I do not mind if Chong Wei wants to perform in Hyderabad. After Malaysia Masters tournament next week, we will make an assessment,” said Hendrawan added . Lee this year’s schedule is pretty solid . The tournament, which will be attended , among others, the All England ( March 8 to 13 ), Swiss Open ( March 15 to 20 ), Malaysian Open (5-10 April), and the Thomas Cup finals. Prior to these two tournaments, Lee also will go down in Malaysia Masters which will be held on January 19 to 24.
Under the rules, three of the 16 teams that participated finals will be selected based on the ranking points overall , after the selection of participants based on continental qualification.
