Thomas Cup Finals draw for the knockout stage
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia will face Japan in the quarter-finals of the Thomas Cup Finals.
In a draw conducted on Wednesday, Lee Zii Jia and Co are expected to give Japan a good fight when they clash on Thursday at 5pm at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Centre in Chengdu, China.
Malaysia have beaten Japan four times and lost thrice in the past seven meetings in the world team event.
Zii Jia is expected to face off against Kodai Naraoka and even if the tie is stretched to the last and third singles, Japan are expected to bank on veteran Kento Momota to deliver.
If Malaysia pull off an upset and clear the last eight, they will face the winners of the tie between top seeds China and defending champions India.
India fought valiantly for more than five hours on Wednesday before losing 2-3 to Indonesia in their final Group tie and could be a spent force when they clash against the hosts.
Second seeds Denmark have an easy path to the semis as they face Taiwan, while the other last eight battle will be between Indonesia and South Korea in the lower half of the draw, which will be held on Friday at 5pm.
MALAYSIA VS JAPAN
PROBABLE LINE-UP
(World ranking in bracket)
First singles: Lee Zii Jia (No. 10) vs Kodai Naraoka (No. 5)
First doubles: Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik (No. 5) vs Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi (No. 6)
Second singles: Leong Jun Hao (37) vs Kenta Nishimoto (11) or Koki Watanabe (22)
Second doubles: Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani (15) vs Akira Koga-Taichi Saito (16)
Third singles: Cheam June Wei (63) vs Kenta Momota (52)
