SEA Games badminton squad tasked to deliver at least one gold medal in Cambodia

Although Malaysia did not win the team competition of this biennial event since 2009, the national shuttlers won gold medals in the individual disciplines every edition since 2013.

With the Sudirman Cup also taking place at the same time as the SEA Games, the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) decided to send the likes of Leong Jun Hao, Yap Roy King and Siti Nurshuhaini for the opportunity to shine in Cambodia.

“There are seven gold medals contested, and our target is to win one gold medal. We are looking at the men's or mixed doubles. It’s an opportunity for the shuttlers to rise to the occasion.

“The team is prepared, the shuttlers are injury free and the coaches are ready to play their roles through their analysis,” said BAM secretary-general Kenny Goh.

The men’s doubles will be represented by debutants Beh Chun Meng-Goh Boon Sze and Chia Weije-Liew Xun.

They will face a tough ask to win gold in the face of Indonesian doubles’ pairs Shohibul Fikri-Bagas Maulana and Pramudya Kusumawardana-Yeremia Rambitan, who won last year’s All-England and Asian Championships titles.

Roy King-Yap Ling and Choong Hon Jian-Cheng Su Yin will be entrusted to retain the mixed doubles’ gold won by Chen Tang Jie-Peck Yen Wei in 2021.

The men’s singles will see Leong, Ong Ken Yon and Lee Shun Yang shoulder the challenge of the country especially after rising star Justin Hoh suffered Achilles injury last month.

Siti Nurshuhaini will lead the country’s charge in the women’s singles.

“I want to reach the final this year, to make up for the disappointment of the last edition where I could only reach the last-16,” she said.

The team events start on May 8, followed by the individual events from May 12.