IT was 2018 in Bangkok. I watched in dismay as Malaysia collapsed to a 1-3 defeat at the hands of Indonesia in the Thomas Cup quarter-finals.
Lee Chong Wei as the lead star dutifully won all his matches, including the one against Anthony Ginting on that day but the others could not deliver, especially the doubles players.
Fast forward three years – as the postponed 2020 edition begins today in Aarhus, Denmark – and there is indeed a change of guard for Malaysia in the men’s world team event.
Jia Wei and Yew Sin-Ee Yi, however, are no longer with the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM).
But the others in that predicted line-up will be making their debuts (except of course for skipper Zii Jia, Jun Hao who was a reserve then and Aaron who had played with Ee Yi) along with a few other fresh faces like Aidil Sholeh Ali Sadikin and Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun and Low Hang Yee.
While the bulk of that experienced Indonesia team, led by Anthony, return to fight for honour, Malaysia are starting afresh – and what a refreshing sight it is.
I remember team manager Datuk Ng Chin Chai said then after the team’s failure that they would be moulding a young team under a four-year plan, with the target of giving the giants a fight in 2020 and bringing back the Cup – which Malaysia last won in 1992 – at the next edition in Thailand in 2022.We seem to be on the right track.
On paper, it looks tough for the youngsters, except Zii Jia and Aaron-Wooi Yik, to win points in Aarhus.
However, based on the fighting spirit shown during the recent Sudirman Cup in Finland where Malaysia won a bronze, players like June Wei, Jun Hao, Ng Tze Yong, Izzuddin-Sze Wei can seize the moment in the Thomas Cup Finals.
This Finals will be a good platform to showcase the talents that Malaysia have and narrow the gap with Japan, China, Denmark, South Korea and Indonesia, who seem to have better depth in their sides.
The Malaysian women shuttlers have shown some positive signs too but they have a hill to climb in narrowing the yawning gap in standard with the rest of the badminton powerhouses.
It’s good that BAM have fast-tracked five junior players into the women’s singles department to expand the pool in the absence of Goh Jin Wei, Lee Ying Ying and Ho Yen Mei.
It’s nice to have the quantity but the hard part is to work on the quality that is so glaringly lacking.
I guess by now, everyone has accepted that this is a transition period in Malaysian badminton generally.
We have minimal target and lowered expectations and allowed ourselves some space for some growth – and there’s room to build confidence.
It will be great though if some of the first-timers can outdo themselves along the way like Koo Kien Keat did when he stole the show in his debut Thomas Cup Finals in 2004 in Indonesia.
At 19, he played like a pro in all the matches – and that saw his emergence as a world-beater.
Malaysia needs a legion of stars, colourful characters like the Sidek brothers, the late Datuk Punch Gunalan, Chong Wei, Foo Kok Keong etc and players who can be good role models.
All-England champion Zii Jia and Tokyo Olympics bronze medallists Aaron-Wooi Yik have taken the bull by the horn and are heading in the right direction – but the others need to step up too.
In the excitement of building the new stars, I hope we will also not spoil them with excessive praise nor criticise them without any basis.
Ultimately, we don’t want to keep looking back at the glory days of the 1992 Thomas Cup Finals when we last won the Cup. We have to show that we still have it in us to beat China and Indonesia.
It’s time to create new memories. The journey starts now. Over to you, our future stars. Go get ‘em.
The writer was in school when Malaysia last won the Cup and it still gives her goosebumps to hear all the old stories of how the nation came together to celebrate – totally blind to colour, creed, and political differences.
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