KUALA LUMPUR: If push comes to shove, Malaysia are ready to field a doubles player as the third singles in the Badminton Asia Team Championships (BATC) semi-finals tomorrow.
The defending champions were dealt a massive blow today when their top two men's singles players, Lee Zii Jia and Ng Tze Yong, were ruled out of the quarter-finals due to not being physically fit.
Tze Yong, who has yet to fully recover from a lower back muscle tear sustained at the Petronas Malaysia Open last month, had to retire in the first singles match of the quarter-final against Singapore, while former All England champion Zii Jia is suffering from a sinus problem.
Despite the unexpected setback, Malaysia went on to defeat Singapore 3-1 to book their semi-final berth.
By virtue of finishing in the top four, the men's team also automatically secured their spot in April's Thomas Cup Finals in China.
Badminton Association of Malaysia Coaching Director, Rexy Mainaky, was neither happy nor relieved with the outcome.
Speaking to reporters after the last eight tie at the Setia City Convention Centre, the Indonesian former Olympic and world champion said: "At this point, I don't know what to say or have any answers to how we will approach our semi-final match tomorrow.
"Two of our best singles players are out, and we can't even devise a strategy.
"Maybe a doubles player will need to play in the third singles. I will discuss with the other coaches before deciding what's best for us."
Rexy pointed out that the Malaysian team have until 1pm tomorrow to finalise the semi-final starting lineup.
In the absence of Zii Jia and Tze Yong, Malaysia are only left with two singles players - Leong Jun Hao and Eogene Ewe - in the squad.
The doubles players in the team are Aaron Chia, Soh Wooi Yik, Goh Sze Fei, Nur Izzuddin Rumsani, Choong Hon Jian and Haikal Nazri.
"I can't confirm if either Zii Jia or Tze Yong will be fit to play. For Zii Jia, I'll leave it to his team and coach (Wong Tat Meng) because they know his condition better.
"We can't force a player to play if he is not fit to play," added Rexy.
Malaysia will play Japan in the semi-final. Japan had upset hot favourites India 3-2 in the quarter-finals.
MEN'S QUARTER-FINAL RESULTS:
Malaysia bt Singapore 3-1; China bt Indonesia 3-2; South Korea bt Taiwan 3-2; Japan bt India 3-2