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New Straits Times
5 hours ago
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Reaching Billie Jean King Cup final 'not impossible' says coach
KUALA LUMPUR: Muliyadi Jamal is hoping his charges can pull off a surprise run to the final at the Billie Jean King Cup (BJKC) Asia-Oceania Group II competition which starts at the National Tennis Centre here tomorrow (June 16). The national team head coach has named Joleen Saw, Elsa Wan Abdul Rahman, Hannah Yip, Iman Syuhada Abdullah and Lim Zan Ning in the BJKC squad, captained by Koay Hao Sheng. Malaysia, seeded fourth in the competition, has received a relatively favourable draw having been placed together with top-seeds Mongolia, Singapore, Kyrgyzstan and Northern Mariana Island in Group A. Group B features second seeds Indonesia, Pacific Oceania, Uzbekistan, Iran and the Philippines. The top-two teams (finalists) will earn promotion to Group I next year. Muliyadi is expecting his players to at least equal their top-three finish from last year - Malaysia's best ever performance in the history of the competition - but is quietly confident of exceeding that. "Our first mission is to reach the semi-finals which is an achievable goal," said Muliyadi when met at the pre-tournament presser here today (June 15). "But of course, we are hoping to go further than that. Playing on home ground, it is possible we can spring a few surprises. "We beat Uzbekistan here last year and nobody expected that so it is not impossible we could reach the final. "In our group (A), Mongolia will obviously be the toughest team but besides that I believe it is a pretty open competition. "Group B is actually much tougher, Pacific Oceania have just come down from Group I while Uzbekistan and Indonesia have always been strong. "I, however, believe the Philippines will be dangerous, even though they have not brought Alex Eala with them." Muliyadi is expecting to field Joleen and Elsa in the first and second singles slots. "Elsa will likely play in the doubles as well with Hannah but that will depend on the condition of the players on the day," added Muliyadi. "We can make changes to the line-up on the day itself." Malaysia will open its campaign against Kyrgyzstan tomorrow. Malaysia defeated Kyrgyzstan 2-1 in the group stage last year. Kyrgyzstan playing captain Vladislava Andreevskaya is expecting a challenging encounter. "Our (usual) captain is not with us so I will be the playing captain which is a huge responsibility for me. Hopefully things will go our way this year," said Vladislava. "We will be playing the home country Malaysia tomorrow which will be difficult. We played you guys here last year and it was tough." Order of play (all ties start 10am)
New Straits Times
26-04-2025
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Malaysian players could face Alex Eala in Billie Jean King Cup
KUALA LUMPUR: National coach Koay Hao Sheng is expecting a tough outing at the Billie Jean King Cup Asia-Oceania Group II competition in Kuala Lumpur on June 16-21. Hao Sheng believes Pacific Oceania, Indonesia and Philippines will be Malaysia's toughest opponents in the competition, especially if the latter fields their rising star Alexandra Eala. The national squad will, however, have home ground advantage at the National Tennis Centre at Jalan Tuanku Abdul Halim. "We have seen these teams play before so we know it will be a tough competition," said Hao Sheng recently. "Pacific Oceania are coming down from Group I (last year) while Philippines have one player (Alexandra) who is playing really well at the moment and just reached the semi-finals in Miami recently. "I believe she (Alexandra) is keen to play for her country in BJKC but I am not sure if she will be able to compete here (Kuala Lumpur). "The Group II competition will be held after the end of the French Open and a few weeks before Wimbledon. "I guess whether she plays or not will depend on what her preparation plans are for Wimbledon." Alexandra, competing on a wild card, achieved a breakthrough performance at the Miami Open last month, scalping three grand slam champions - Jelena Ostapenko, Madison Keys and Iga Swiatek - en route to the semi-finals where she was narrowly edged by Jessica Pegula. The 19-year-old is now at a career-high No. 72 in the WTA rankings. The other countries competing in Group II are Singapore, Uzbekistan, Northern Mariana Islands, Kyrgyzstan, Iran and Mongolia. Malaysia achieved a top-three finish in the BJKC Asia-Oceania Group II competition last year, which was the national team's best-ever performance. "It will not be easy but we will definitely try to equal our top-three finish from last year," said Hao Sheng. "Nothing is guaranteed because the other teams will also be well prepared but at the same time nothing is impossible." Tennis Malaysia is expected to name their BJKC squad roughly two weeks before the Group II competition starts. Hao Sheng is likely to be named team captain.
New Straits Times
24-04-2025
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Davis Cup promotion possible with full-strength squad, says Tennis Malaysia
KUALA LUMPUR: Tennis Malaysia (TM) president Mirzan Mahathir is confident the national squad can secure immediate promotion in the Davis Cup this year if they can assemble a full-strength squad for the tournament. Malaysia was relegated from Group III of the Davis Cup Asia-Oceania competition last year and will compete in the Group IV division this season. The Group IV competition, which is the second lowest tier of the Davis Cup, will be held at the National Tennis Centre (NTC) at Jalan Tuanku Abdul Halim on July 14-19. The other nations in Group IV are Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Qatar, Iraq, Nepal, Philippines, Malaysia as well as Pacific Oceania who were relegated alongside Malaysia from Group III last season. Tennis Malaysia (TM) have until two weeks before the tournament to finalise their squad. "Usually teams who have just been demoted will field their strongest squad and it will probably be the same with Pacific Oceania. Nobody wants to go down and stay down," said Mirzan during a press conference in Kuala Lumpur today (April 24). "Besides Pacific Oceania we also have the Philippines (as contenders) who are looking to work their way back up the divisions. "We are working hard to assemble a strong squad for the tournament and if we are able to do that, I am confident we can achieve our objective (securing promotion). "This (Group IV) is not a position we want to be in and I hope Malaysians will come out to support the team for all their matches. We are hoping that playing on home ground will give us a boost." Malaysia will first host the Billie Jean King Cup (BJKC) Asia-Oceania Group II competition on June 16-21 at NTC. It will be the fourth year in a row that Malaysia is hosting the tournament. Only the top two teams from both the Davis Cup and BJKC competitions will earn promotion. TM is thus hoping to secure the services of touring professional Mitsuki Leong as well as his younger sister Shihomi to boost Malaysia's chances of promotion in both Davis Cup and BJKC competitions. "We are certainly talking to them. They are very busy at the moment because they are playing tournaments week in, week out on tour," said Mirzan. "I am confident we will be able to secure their commitment in the near future and I am looking forward to their participation in the teams." Malaysia will line up alongside Kyrgyzstan, Iran, Mongolia, Pacific Oceania, Northern Mariana Islands, Singapore, Indonesia, Uzbekistan as well as the Philippines in BJKC Asia-Oceania Group II. The national team achieved a best-ever top-three finish in Group II last year and TM is hoping they can at least replicate that this year. The Philippines national body was suspended by ITF in December 2020 due to various issues. The ban was only lifted at the end of 2023 which is why they are currently competing in the lower divisions of Davis Cup and BJKC.
