Chong King stakes a claim

NATIONAL men's singles Lim Chong King believes he stands a chance to make the Thomas Cup squad if he can finish top four in the BA of Malaysia (BAM) Invitational Championships next week.

Yesterday, the 20-year-old lived up to his billing as one of the top seeds in Division Two, when he easily brushed aside Low Eu Chong 21-15, 21-14 in the first match, before seeing off former junior shuttler Shaqeem Eiman Shahyar 19-21, 21-15, 21-14 in the second.

However, the 2019 Hellas Open champion is well-aware that his journey to make the Thomas Cup team is far from over.

Chong King will need to finish as one of the top two players in Division Two to compete in next week's Division One event alongside World No 10 Lee Zii Jia, 2018 World Championships bronze medallist Liew Daren and Cheam June Wei, to name a few.

"The goal is to get to Division One first.

"If I can finish top four after that, then I stand a good chance to make the Thomas Cup squad," said Chong King, who was happy to have finally played in his first competitive match this year.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, most players barely got a chance to flex their muscles this year as most tournaments were either postponed or cancelled.

"It took me a while to adapt to the conditions because we haven't played competitive badminton in months," said Chong King, who last competed in the Bangladesh International last December.

"I wasn't playing at full capacity, maybe 80 per cent. I should get better with more matches. For now, I'm just happy to be playing competitive badminton again.

"Competing and training are two very different things," he added.

Top seed and former Asian junior champion Leong Jun Hao also got his campaign off to a good start.

Despite having to slog a little in the first match, Jun Hao still managed to score a 20-22, 21-16, 21-14 win over Ter Chun Long before edging Low Eu Chong 23-21, 22-20.

The round-robin matches will continue today and tomorrow.