The Sea Games men’s singles event in the Philippines is likely to be an open affair with shuttlers from Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia all having an even chance of winning the title.
Among the players to watch are Indonesia’s defending champion Jonathan Christie, Thailand’s Kantaphon Wangcharoen, Singapore’s Loh Kean Yu and Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia.
“Indonesia only had traditional rivals Malaysia to watch out for in the men’s singles in the previous Sea Games editions but it is not the case anymore.
“Players from Thailand, Singapore and even Vietnam have shuttlers who can challenge for the gold.
“Jonatan is the favourite but Kantaphon and Kean Yu are also strong contenders,” said national singles coach Hendrawan at the launch of the Malaysia Masters at Akademi Badminton Malaysia (ABM) in Bukit Kiara yesterday.
Hendrawan also believes Zii Jia has a chance of upsetting the odds in the competition.
Zii Jia who suffered food poisoning recently is back in training to prepare for his second Sea Games outing.
“I have been training hard and my target is to win a medal in the Philippines,” said World No 12 Zii Jia. “My target was to break into the top 10 this year but it is not possible now as I had to skip a few tournaments due to food poisoning.”
The Malaysia Masters will be held at Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil on Jan 7-12.
The tournament, sponsored by Perodua and Daihatsu, is expected to attract a world-class field as it offers Olympic ranking points.
BA of Malaysia president Datuk Seri Norza Zakaria hopes his shuttlers will rise to the occasion in the tournament.
“With the Olympic qualifying entering the crucial period, top players are expected to compete here.
“I hope our players can perform well and earn ranking points,” he said.
Former World No 1 Lee Chong Wei is the most successful player in the Malaysia Masters with five titles.