CHENGDU: Japan have sprung a surprise by choosing to field Kenta Nishimoto instead of Kodai Naraoka against Lee Zii Jia in the first singles in the Thomas Cup Finals last eight tie against Malaysia on Thursday (May 2).
World No. 10 Zii Jia was expected to take on Japan’s No. 1 and world No. 5 Naraoka but instead will face No. 2 Nishimoto (world No. 11) in the crucial opening match.
In the second singles, world No. 37 Leong Jun Hao will play world No. 22 Koki Watanabe while youngster Justin Hoh also keeps his place in the team and will take on former two-time world champion Kento Momota if the tie goes to the decider.
There were no surprises in the doubles though as world No. 5 Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik and world No. 15 Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin have been selected to face Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi (No. 6) and Akira Koga-Taichi Saito (No. 16) respectively.
The match will start at 5pm at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Centre in Chengdu.
