NATIONAL singles chief coach Rashid Sidek believes Malaysia have a fighting chance of not only reaching the Sudirman Cup semi-finals but beyond that if they can avoid being drawn in the same half of the draw as defending champions China in the knockout stage of the mixed team event in Kuala Lumpur on May 19-26.
Malaysia, the third seeds, received a favourable draw in the preliminary stage yesterday where they have Germany and Taiwan for company in Group C and the initial objective, said Rashid, is to finish as group winners and advance to the quarter-finals.China, who should win Group A, also consisting Indonesia and India, should be in the top half of the knockout draw and Rashid's bold prediction will face a stern test if Malaysia are drawn in the bottom half.
"It is a good draw and our immediate target is to win Group C and advance to the last eight as one of the top four teams. I still believe that Malaysia have a chance of making it to the final if we can avoid a meeting with China until the decider," said Rashid in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
"We cannot take Germany and Taiwan lightly as their women shuttlers are strong but I am confident we can pull through.
"In order to win both our matches, we must utilise Lee Chong Wei in the group stage to make sure our path is easier towards the semi-finals.
"The quarter-finals will not be easy as we may face teams such as Indonesia, Thailand, South Korea, Denmark or Japan but we will be prepared.
"We simply don't have the depth to match China and if we are to fight for a place in the final for the first time, we must avoid them in the knockout stage."
Group B consists of Thailand, South Korea and Hong Kong while Denmark, Japan and Singapore make up Group D.
National doubles coach Tan Kim Her was also relieved with the group stage draw and he is banking on mixed doubles pair Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying to find their groove to help Malaysia achieve their best result in the Sudirman Cup.
"We should have no problem qualifying for the last eight but the match against Taiwan will be tricky. We are strong in the men's singles and doubles while Taiwan are better in the women's events and Peng Soon-Liu Ying will have the pressure of pulling us through," said Kim Her.
"However, I am looking forward to the team reaching the last eight as group winners as this will boost confidence.
"We should avoid meeting China in the last eight by winning our group but there are other tough matches awaiting us in the knockout stage."
Malaysia's best achievement in the Sudirman Cup is reaching the semi-finals in Guangzhou in 2011 where they lost 3-1 to China.
Sudirman Cup Level 1 -- Group A: China, Indonesia, India: Group B: Thailand, South Korea, Hong Kong; Group C: Malaysia, Germany, Taiwan; Group D: Denmark, Japan, Singapore.
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