KUALA LUMPUR: The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) has been urged to field their best lineup for the 2025 Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championship (BAMTC) in Qingdao, China, next month.
National badminton legend Datuk Razif Sidek said that if Malaysia send their top squad, the BAMTC 2025 could serve as a platform to assess the players’ readiness ahead of the Sudirman Cup 2025, to be held in Xiamen, China, from April 27 to May 4.
“If you ask for my opinion, they have to pick the best who are ready for the tournament. With the current lineup, I don’t see it as a burden or an issue (to compete in BAMTC 2025).
“However, all of this depends on the Badminton Association of Malaysia on how serious this tournament is for them, whether BAMTC 2025 is part of their targets or not,” he told Bernama.
The men’s doubles bronze medallist at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics said Malaysia have strength in four categories – men’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles, and mixed doubles.
However, Razif noted that Malaysia’s weakness in BAMTC, which has been contested since 2017, lies mainly in the women’s singles category, with the shuttlers still struggling to compete with other world-class players.
Malaysia face a tough challenge after being drawn in Group B alongside neighbouring Indonesia, Hong Kong, and Kazakhstan.
Although Indonesia and Hong Kong have never won the BAMTC, both countries have clinched bronze medals, whereas Malaysia have yet to reach the semifinals.
Host and defending champion China are in Group A alongside Taiwan and Singapore.
Group C features 2017 champions Japan, who will compete against Thailand and the Philippines, while two-time runners-up South Korea will face India and Macau in Group D.
Only the top two teams from each group will qualify for the quarterfinals in the tournament, which will run from Feb 11 to Feb 16.
In the previous edition held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Malaysia sent their strongest lineup, including professional men’s singles player Lee Zii Jia, but lost 2-3 to China in the quarterfinals. – BERNAMA
