(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2008-02-03 15:20

KUALA LUMPUR - Top seeds Malaysia were handed a favourable draw on Sunday in their bid to qualify for May's Thomas Cup finals in Jakarta.

Malaysia, led by world number two Lee Chong Wei, were drawn against Chinese Taipei, the Philippines and Cambodia in Group A for the Asian qualifiers in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, from February 19-24.

Second-seeded South Korea will play Singapore and Vietnam in Group B and Japan take on India and Pakistan in Group C.

Fourth seeds Hong Kong, will have a tougher time against Thailand, Sri Lanka and Macau in Group D.

Malaysia have three players in the world top 25, with Lee joined by 15th-rankled Wong Choong Hann and number 24 Hashim Muhammad Hafiz.

The South Koreans are led by 12th-ranked Park Sung-hwan and world number 14 Lee Hyun-il, recent winner of the Korean Open.

In the Uber Cup Asian Zone qualifiers, top seeds Japan play Thailand and Sri Lanka in Group W.

South Korea take on Singapore and Cambodia in Group X while Chinese Taipei are joined by Hong Kong and Vietnam in Group Y.

Group Z consists of only two teams, Malaysia and India.

In both competitions, the top two teams from each group, after a round-robin, qualify for the quarter-finals.

For the Thomas Cup, four teams qualify for the Jakarta finals. However, in the Uber Cup, only the top three teams qualify automatically.

The team finishing fourth are compared to the fourth-placed team from the European qualifiers. The higher ranking of the two, as of February 27, will advance to the Finals.