Source: REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq
[Saba Sports News] The 33rd Southeast Asian Games will be held in Thailand from December 9th to 20th this year. As the host nation, the Thai team is likely to field its full main squad in badminton to win more gold medals on home turf. However, the schedule of the Southeast Asian Games conflicts with the BWF World Tour Finals. The Finals, held in Hangzhou, China this year, are scheduled for December 17th-21st. It is reported that the Thai team will send many key players such as Kunlavut Vitidsarn, Pornpawee Chochuwong, Ratchanok Intanon, Dechapol Puavaranukroh, and Supissara Paewsampran to compete. Under such strong pressure from the host team, Malaysia may also find it difficult to “hold back” its world champions. The 2022 World Championships men’s doubles champions and current world No. 2 pair Aaron Chia Teng Fong and Soh Wooi Yik, as well as the mixed doubles pair Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei, who won the title at this year’s Paris World Championships, are widely expected to join the team to Bangkok to directly confront Thailand’s star-studded lineup. Although Thailand still has some concerns in certain doubles events, leveraging home advantage and strong singles players, they are poised to be the biggest obstacle in Malaysia’s path to gold. The badminton event at the Southeast Asian Games is likely to feature a showdown of world champions.