Familiar rivals Lee Zii Jia and Kento Momota are set to go head to head yet again, this time at the 2022 Thomas Cup as Malaysia were drawn in Group D of the tournament alongside England and New Zealand.

In the Uber Cup, Malaysia were drawn against last year’s host Denmark, Thailand and also minnows Egypt in Group C.

But it is the Thomas Cup that will pique the interest of fans, with fans getting an opportunity to see both nations do battle for the fourth time in recent history.

Japan will be hot favourites to win this contest, having done so comprehensively 4-1 in the group stage of the Thomas Cup last year.

Both nations also met twice at the Sudirman Cup last year, which saw triumph 4-1 in the group stage and 3-1 in the semi-finals.

More intriguingly, it pits Lee against Momota who faced each other four times in the last six months.

Lee won first at the Sudirman Cup group stage, before Momota edged the semis in that tournament and repeated victory at the Thomas Cup group stage.

But Lee gained the advantage in the most recent meeting by beating the world number two at the All-England quarter-finals last month, repeating what he did to the Japanese at the same stage of the tournament last year.

On paper, the men’s team are favourites to progress to the last eight along with Japan.

Group A looks to be the most competitive group on paper, with champions Indonesia, South Korea and Thailand in the mix.

The Malaysian women’s team meanwhile will face a tough time against Denmark, who thrashed them 4-1 in the group stage last year.

Last year’s semi-finalists Thailand will be favourites to join the European nation and improve on their performance from last year.