Qingdao: National badminton team coach, K. Yogendran, has announced that Malaysia will field in-form players against Hong Kong in their opening Group B match at the 2025 Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championships (BAMTC) in Qingdao, China, tomorrow.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the decision was made by the Malaysian coaching team to select players based on current form and suitability against Hong Kong rather than relying on world rankings. Yogendran stated, “After discussing with the coaches, including those in Malaysia, we have decided to select players for tomorrow’s match based on their recent performance rather than their rankings.”

Yogendran emphasized the importance of strategizing for the team event, saying, “We will field players based on their current form and who we believe are best suited to face Hong Kong.” This decision was shared in a video released by the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) today.

Furthermore, Yogendran confirmed that the team will not experiment with new pairings against Hong Kong. The decision was made to maintain existing pairs as previously listed, as there is no necessity to take such an approach at this stage. “We will not try scratch pairings; we will field our regular pairs. Based on their current form, our doubles pairs are all in top condition,” he added.

Malaysia, which has not advanced past the group stage since the tournament began in 2017, will face Hong Kong tomorrow before competing against arch-rival Indonesia in their final Group B match on Thursday. Only the top two teams from each group will progress to the quarterfinals.