Odds are against Lee and Co in Thomas Cup Finals but can they pull off a surprise?

THE Thomas Cup Finals is always special for Malaysians. Every two years, when the Finals come around, so do the memories.

There was Misbun Sidek with his psychedelic hairdos, Foo Kok Keong with his intense fighting spirit, the greatness of Wong Peng Soon, Punch Gunalan and Ng Boon Bee, the Tan brothers Aik Huang and Aik Mong, and more recently the duels between Lee Chong Wei and his Chinese rivals – Lin Dan, Chen Long, and the rise of the doubles players.

There was good, there was bad and there was ugly, but one thing was for sure – there was always big expectations and great excitement. The nation waited with bated breath to see what our shuttlers would do.

Not this time.

The world’s premier badminton event begins today in Chengdu in China but the excitement is sorely lacking at home this time around. It’s almost as if few people even care. And the questions rage.

Is it because we don’t have the best team going? Or is it because the team did not do enough to fan the fire among the fans – with our top singles shuttler Zii Jia training on his own while the rest huddled together at a centralised camp?

Has there been a tinge of jealousy in the team as Zii Jia will be the only one who will get paid as a professional player under the image rights clause.

Are there prima donnas in the team?

Is it because our standard has dropped while the others have caught up, no... zoomed past us?

India, for instance, humiliated us at the last edition when they shocked Malaysia in the quarter-finals and went on to win the Thomas Cup for the first time. They still have the bulk of that team, with more rising through the ranks.

Malaysia seem to have few exciting stars coming up and the results of late have not been encouraging.

Many, both fans and officials, have lost faith in the team and do not believe we can go far.

But I believe. I believe that when the team are at their lowest ebb, that is when we – the fans and Malaysians as a whole – should step up and give them our utmost support.

Zii Jia may be training by himself but he is good friends with all members of the team, especially team captain Soh Wooi Yik. They are bosom buddies.

It will not be a problem at all for him to blend in and give his 100% in the team event.

Our doubles led by former world champions Aaron Chia-Wooi Yik are equally capable. The competition in the doubles is close. It could be anyone’s game. It all depends on how they perform on the day.

We should not write anyone off.

Having said that, it can also work the other way. Malaysia can also lose to Hong Kong in the opening game today if they are not focused enough.

The opening Group D match begins today and Malaysia must beat the Hong Kong side led by our former No. 1 singles shuttler Wong Choong Hann to keep alive their hopes of reaching the quarter-finals.

The others in the group are hotshots Denmark and Algeria. The top two teams will advance to the last eight from each of the four groups – it should be Malaysia and Denmark.

When I first covered the Finals in 2000 as a rookie reporter, Malaysia suffered a slap in their face when they failed to clear the group stage at home. They lost to South Korea and Denmark and even dropped a point against a weaker Indian team. You could blame it on home nerves then.

In fact, the president and secretary resigned from their positions after that debacle.

It was a big failure, one that was seen as a national humiliation.

Since that blunder in 2000, Malaysia have always cleared the group stage.

They have reached two finals (2002 and 2014), four semis (2006, 2008, 2010 and 2016) but failed to clear the quarter-finals five times (2004, 2012, 2018, 2020, 2022).

This time, they go in as underdogs, and that tag may work in their favour. The expectations are not that high.

Hopefully, the team led by Zii Jia can surprise us all.

Our StarSport reporter R. Kirubashini is covering the event on the field for the first time, just like me back in 2000. Will she be luckier than I was?

We would all like to see Malaysia lift the Cup again (after the triumph in 1992), or at least make it into the final, which they last did 10 years ago.

Then, Japan surprised the world with a young Kento Momota leading a fightback in their 3-2 win.

Let’s hope our underdogs fight just as hard this time.