Pix by Mohd Yusni Ariffin
BANGKOK: Denmark’s strength in men’s doubles could turn out to be the key in overcoming arch-rivals Malaysia in Wednesday’s Thomas Cup Group D clash.
The winner of the tie will top the group for an easier quarter-final draw.
Mads Pieler Kolding, who makes up Denmark’s No 1 pair with Mads Conrad-Petersen, said Denmark have got so much depth in their doubles department, that people wouldn't bat an eyelid if they switched players around.
In the absence of Carsten Mogensen (who also missed out on the 2016 edition), his partner Mathias Boe partnered Mathias Christiansen in the opening group tie against Algeria where the defending champions thrashed the African side 5-0.
For the record, Boe-Christiansen have yet to lose a game at the Thomas Cup, including their short stint in 2016.
"Our doubles will definitely be the key heading into tomorrow's (Wednesday) tie against Malaysia. Technically, Conrad-Petersen and I are the No 1 here, but we could always switch our players around.
"I believe the Denmark squad have got a lot of jokers up our sleeves, and we will see tomorrow if we decide to play Boe-Christiansen or even our second pair (Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen), then again we can just scratch them up.
"I say our doubles is key because anything can happen against Malaysia. Should Viktor (Axelsen) go down in the first match (against Lee Chong Wei), we will have to level the tie in the doubles.
"It's not the same as two years ago, but we hope to repeat the feat. Our understanding is simple. We are free and easy as we know what we want.
"Looking forward to a good match tomorrow," said Kolding, who helped deliver Denmark's second point against Russia in their second group tie.
Denmark, who didn't rest any of their top players, won the tie 5-0 to sit on top of Group D, without dropping a single game so far.