The same though, cannot be said of the women’s team, which has been drawn in Group Y with defending champions Japan and India.

At the draw carried out at the Setia City Convention Centre in Shah Alam today, Malaysia, who are the men’s runners-up at the 2020 edition in Manila, avoided three-time champions Indonesia, India, South Korea and Hong Kong.

The four nations have been pitted in Group A.

In the women’s draw, Group Z comprises South Korea, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Kazakhstan.

With teams like China, Thailand and Taiwan not competing at this edition, which will be held at the Setia City Convention Centre from Feb 15-20, the tournament format has been modified and there will be no quarterfinals.

The top two teams from each group will advance to the semifinals and automatically qualify for the Thomas and Uber Cup Finals in Bangkok, Thailand.

Meanwhile, national men’s singles head coach Hendrawan expects stiff competition for a place in the semifinals although Japan won’t be sending their top guns.

This, he said, was because Malaysia will be represented by a mixture of experienced shuttlers and youngsters.

He said they would still be banking on national No 1 Lee Zii Jia although the shuttler had quit the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) to turn professional.

“Zii Jia is crucial, especially against Singapore (who will be led by world champion Loh Kean Yew) because it’s 50-50 (between the shuttlers). If Zii Jia wins, it will be easier (for us. (Men’s pair) Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik will be key as well. We have Ng Tze Yong and Leong Jun Hao who can handle the pressure too,” he said.

“We will try to give players like Tze Yong and Jun Hao more exposure because there are many tournaments and team championships this year, such as the Asian Games, Commonwealth Games and Thomas Cup.”