Malaysia makes swift return to Davis Cup Group III

New Straits Times

3 days ago

KUALA LUMPUR: After suffering a disastrous outing in the Davis Cup last year, the national tennis squad gave fans plenty to smile about today (July 19).
Malaysia secured promotion after beating Qatar 2-0 in the Davis Cup Asia-Oceania Group IV promotional playoffs at the National Tennis Centre here.
Despite feeling ill yesterday (July 18), key player Koay Hao Sheng, 26, did not disappoint as he downed Mubarak Alharrasi 7-5, 6-2 to give Malaysia a 1-0 lead.
Darrshan Kumar, 18, then sealed promotion to Group III next season by beating Mubarak's brother, Mossa, 6-3, 6-1.
Malaysia was, for the first time in history, relegated from Group III last year.
Hao Sheng admitted that there was pressure on the squad to immediately bounce back this season. Malaysia was also the top seed in the competition.
"I was feeling a bit dizzy yesterday but had a good rest last night and felt better today. I am quite satisfied with my performance today, I managed the pressure and the match quite well," said Hao Sheng.
"There was definitely pressure on us because this is the first time we have been in Group IV and we wanted to go back to Group III really badly.
"As the oldest player in the squad, I felt responsible for the team. The other players, however, did really well and that took some of the burden off my shoulders."
And it was double-joy for the Perlis-born as he will be celebrating his birthday next week (July 27).
"I couldn't have asked for a better birthday gift, I really appreciate all the effort put in by the whole team," said Hao Sheng.
The national squad topped Pool A earlier this week. They won all 11 matches they played, dropping only one set throughout the tournament.
National team captain Adam Jaya promised he would rotate his players throughout the tournament and did just that, giving Darrshan, Leroy Yong and Daniel Prickett all a taste of singles action. Adam also switched them around with Naufal Kamaruzzaman in the doubles.
"I am proud of my players because there were a lot of expectations on them, the whole nation wanted us to go back to Group III. They played well throughout the week," said Adam.
"Hao Sheng has very good mental strength and showed great resilience even when he was not feeling well.
"Darrshan, Leroy and Daniel are all of a similar level and rotating them kept our opponents guessing. It also creates good competition for spots in the team."
As expected, unseeded favourites the Philippines, who topped Pool B, also secured promotion to Group III after beating Kygyzstan 2-0 in their playoff.
Second seeds Pacific Oceana and Nepal were relegated to Group V next year after losing 2-1 to Iraq and 2-0 to Kuwait respectively in the relegation playoffs.
The Philippines tennis federation was suspended by the ITF in late 2020 due to governance issues. The suspension was lifted in January last year which is why they are currently making their way back up from the lower divisions in both men's and women's tennis.