KUALA LUMPUR: Despite being the hosts and defending champions, Malaysia have set a modest target of securing a top-four position in the Badminton Asia Team Championships (BATC) here from Feb 13-21.
Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) secretary-general, Datuk Kenny Goh said the primary goal is to qualify for the Thomas Cup Finals in Chengdu, China from April 27-May 5.
At the last edition in 2022, also in Shah Alam, the Malaysian side, led by Lee Zii Jia and Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, powered to their first-ever men's team title in the event since its inception in 2016.
They defeated Indonesia's second-stringers 3-0 in the final.
The hosts also earned another medal through the women, who made it to the semi-finals and qualified for the Uber Cup Finals.
Perhaps, BAM is probably aware that this year's field is set to be stronger, considering that it offers Olympic qualification points for the Race to Paris rankings.
The teams have until Jan 26 to name their squad.
To date, India are the only team that have unveiled their squad, comprising a strong lineup with their top singles and doubles shuttlers — H. S. Prannoy and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty, all part of the side that clinched the Thomas Cup in 2022 and a Hangzhou Asian Games silver last year.
"For now, we will aim for the top four first, and the team will look at further targets as the tournament progresses," said Kenny after the launch of BATC at a hotel here today.
"It's important for us to qualify for the Thomas Cup on merit. While we are assured of qualifying regardless of the outcome (through world team rankings), we want to nail it through the BATC."
"Meanwhile, Badminton Asia has confirmed the participation of 15 men's teams and 11 women's teams in this edition.
It's worth noting that China are making a return to the tournament after being absent in the last two editions.