Thomas Cup: Malaysia defeat Algeria 5-0, take on Denmark next

CHENGDU: Malaysia have booked their spot in the quarter-finals of the Thomas Cup Finals after easily beating Algeria 5-0 in the team’s second Group D match.

As expected, Malaysia faced little trouble against the minnows and Lee Zii Jia got the ball rolling with a confident 21-8, 21-6 win in the first singles on Sunday (April 28).

Fellow independent player Cheam June Wei then doubled the team’s advantage by brushing off Youcef Sabri 21-9, 21-14 in the second singles.

Young doubles pair Choong Hon Jian-Mohd Haikal Nazri then secured victory with a 21-10, 21-14 win over Sifeddine Larbaoui-Mohamed Abdelaziz Ouchefoun.

Twenty-year-old Justin Hoh then downed Mohamed Abderrahime Belarbi 21-10, 21-14 in the third singles to make it 4-0 before scratch pair Soh Wooi Yik-Nur Izzudddin Rumsani completed the rout with a 21-13, 21-9 victory over Koceila Mammeri-Youcef Sabri.

Malaysia will face Denmark next on Tuesday (April 30) to complete their group fixtures.

Both teams will advance to the quarter-finals but the winner of the tie will be seeded by virtue of being group champion.