DESPITE in their weakened state due to food poisoning, the national Davis Cup team have safely progressed into the winner’s pool at the ongoing Asia/Oceania Group III event in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Apart from Malaysia, players from the United Arab Emi rates (UAE), Lebanon and Kuwait have also fallen sick, after eating at the Ceylon Continental Hotel, the tournament’s official hotel, in Colombo.
Concerned teams have lodged a complaint to the or ganisers on this matter.
Malaysia finished second in Group B behind Lebanon, after earning wins over UAE (2-1) and Oman (2-1). They lost 3-0 to Lebanon in their final group match.
According to Lawn Tennis Association of Malaysia (LTAM) executive-secretary Ibrahim Abu Bakar, the entire national team suffered food poisoning on June 15, a day before playing Oman.
National No 1 Si Yew Ming, Ariez Elyaas Deen Heshaam, Nazim Khan and Ahmad Deedat Abdul Razak are the members of the national Davis Cup team in Sri Lanka.
“Nazim was the worst affected as he had to withdraw from his singles match against Oman. The others suffered minor complications and were able to complete their matches,” said Ibrahim yesterday.
“According to team captain Deen Heshaam Tan Abdullah, the players are under medication. We are now deeply concerned as food poisoning can affect a player’s strength,” said Ibrahim.
Malaysia will now compete against Group A champions Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Lebanon for promotion into Group II next year.
As the tournament’s past results are carried forward, Malaysia will not face Lebanon in the pool.
It means the team must beat Sri Lanka and Vietnam to finish among the top two teams for promotion.
Ibrahim hopes the team will regain their strength in time for their matches.
“We hope they will be able to earn promotion. It will however, depend on how fast they can recover from their illness,” he added.
