TheStar Feb 13 PETALING JAYA: It should be a stroll in the park for Malaysia against the badminton minnows in Group A of the Thomas Cup Asian Zone qualifying tournament. But national coach Misbun Sidek has warn his charges not to take things too lightly especially as the new 21-point best-of-three games rally scoring format will be used during the qualifier. The Asian Zone qualifying starts on Wednesday at Jaipur, India. The four group champions qualify for the Thomas Cup Finals scheduled to be played in Japan from April 28-May 7. Besides Malaysia, the others in Group A are Iran, Nepal, Pakistan. Misbun said he was confident that Malaysia will win all the group ties but he was concerned with the new scoring system. “The Malaysians may make it hard for themselves if they commit a lot of mistakes. Under this format, a mistake from our side means a point for the opponents,” said Misbun. “We are superior on skills. But, I hope the players will not take it easy against these teams. They must use this as an opportunity to strive for perfection. If possible, they must go for a 21-0 win,” said Misbun. Under the 21-point format, a point is awarded for a rally won and whoever scores the point holds service. At 20-all, deuce will be called and the player who wins two consecutive points wins the game. If the score remains at 29-all, then the tie-break is used and the first person to reach 30 wins the match. For the doubles, the winner of a rally holds service but there will be no second server. After watching the top players led by Mohd Hafiz Hashim in action under the new scoring format for the first time during the invitational World Cup in Yiyang, China in December, Misbun had mixed feelings. “The attacking players hold the advantage under this format. The players are constantly under pressure because they cannot make mistakes and it lacks tactical play. But it does end quickly,” he said. “We (the coaches) have studied the format and have prepared our players to play under the new format.” THE GROUPINGS Group A: Malaysia, Iran, Nepal, Pakistan. Group B: Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam. Group C: Hong Kong, India, Singapore. Group D: South Korea, Taiwan, Sri Lanka.
