WONG Mew Choo, despite being constantly bugged with injuries, will be the pick of the coaches to make an impact in the women's singles of the Sudirman Cup in Guangzhou on May 10-17.

Julia Wong, though improved, still lacks big match temperament.

Julia has steadily improved her ranking and at World No 12, is the highest ranked Malaysian, but Mew Choo, who is at 14th position, has the experience of competing in the mixed team event since 2003, and spearheading Malaysia's charge in the Uber Cup, which will come in handy against the top class opposition she will be facing.

China have the likes of last month's triple winner Wang Yihan, two-time world champion Xie Xingfang and Lu Lan while Denmark have World No 1 Tine Rasmussen, Hong Kong will be led by Wold No 2 Zhou Mi, and Indonesia will have Beijing Olympics bronze medallist Maria Kristin Yulianti, and Mew Choo will face some of them.

National singles chief coach Rashid Sidek said Julia, despite her improvement, is still not solid and Mew Choo has a better chance of turning the tables on some of the big names to help Malaysia achieve a semi-final target.
"Mew Choo may not be in her best physical condition but she is still a stronger bet for the women's singles. She will be the first choice in our campaign this time," said Rashid.

"Julia has improved but she is still not a solid player. Looking at the players we need to face in the Sudirman Cup, Julia may struggle.

"We are in a position to field our best team in all our matches as we don't have the luxury to experiment or give our second liners the chance to gain exposure.

"We have a semi-final target so we have to field the strongest side in each match. If there is anyone who can provide the surprise point, it will be Mew Choo and we need to capitalise on that."

However, injuries have often spoilt things for Mew Choo and should she suffer a recurrence of the knee injury which kept her out for six months, Julia may be thrust into the thick of the action.

However, the Malaysian team will be hoping they will not be in a such a situation as it will make things difficult against stronger teams like China, South Korea, Indonesia and Denmark.

Malaysia are unlikely to name Lydia Cheah as the second reserve as she is unlikely to see action in Gunagzhou and her performance in team events has not been impressive in the past.