Thomas and Uber Cup is about to start, so there is naturally a lot of attention on the favorite team to win the cup. The Malaysian men's team is undoubtedly the favorite team in the Thomas Cup. Former world champion Lee Chong Wei also has high hopes for this year's team, and his desire for the championship is also evident. He is looking forward to breaking the 8-year Thomas Cup record of losing to and Denmark this year.
According to the current draw situation, if nothing unexpected happens, Malaysia and Denmark will both advance to the quarterfinals, so the two favorites to win the championship will meet on a narrow road. Judging from the head-to-head record in recent years, Malaysia’s results are slightly at a disadvantage. After defeating the Danish team in New Delhi in 2014, they lost to Denmark twice in a row in Kunshan in 2016 and Bangkok in 2018.
Lee Chong Wei said in a previous interview that Malaysia’s second men’s doubles has a greater chance of winning, and the other four games are very close. Malaysia's key to victory will be the third singles, which could change the final result.
Let’s take a look at the rough matchups in the first three rounds:
No. 1 men’s singles: There is no doubt that the new Asian Championships champion Li Zijia will face the Tokyo Olympic champion Axelsen . Personally, I feel that Li Zijia's strength is slightly inferior, but he has been in the limelight recently, which also adds a bit of suspense.
The first men's doubles: Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist Xie Dingfeng , Su Weiyi played against Astrup and Rasmushen. The Malaysian combination is ranked seventh in the world, higher than its opponents.
Second men's singles: The editor guesses that Liu Guolun will play against Antonsen . Antonsen is ranked third in the world, and it is not easy for veteran Liu Guolun to win.
Third men’s singles: Malaysia will send what they consider to be their winning weapon, Huang Zhiyong. To be honest, judging from the world rankings alone, being ranked 47th may not necessarily have such an obvious advantage.
In terms of doubles, Malaysia’s strength cannot be underestimated, with German Open champions Wu Shifei and Noyzudin. The combination of Wang Yaoxin and Zhang Yuyu is also very strong, ranking 11th in the world.
So it seems that Malaysia’s men’s doubles should be relatively dominant.
So, regarding Li Zongwei’s judgment, who do you think will win this year?
