PETALING JAYA: Malaysia can't depend on Lee Zii Jia alone to make a difference in the Thomas Cup, but that seems to be the situation after Leong Jun Hao and Justin Hoh crashed out early at the Asian Championships in Ningbo.
Jun Hao struggled to live up to his billing as Malaysia’s No. 1, falling tamely to Jonatan Christie in a 13-21, 8-21 loss.
Justin, meanwhile, put up a better fight before going down 19-21, 21-14, 18-21 to Alwi Farhan, but the result still highlighted the men’s singles department’s fragility heading into the team event.
With Jun Hao and Justin expected to lead the singles charge as Malaysia’s first and second players, both will need to step up rather than put the burden on third singles Zii Jia if the team are to meet their title ambitions.
Former national shuttler Ong Ewe Hock did not hold back, saying Jun Hao may have already reached his ceiling, and his status as Malaysia’s No. 1 masks the fact that he still trails far behind the world’s elite.
With the Thomas Cup just three weeks away, Malaysia have little choice but to stick with him as their leading singles player.
“He (Jun Hao) is Malaysia’s No. 1 because he has the highest ranking among the locals but as you can see, his level is not yet world class,” said Ewe Hock.
“We cannot drop him, so he will still go to the Thomas Cup. My hope is that even though many expect him to lose against other countries’ top singles players, he can still put up a strong performance. We have to make do with what we have for now.''
Ahead of the squad submission deadline today, Jun Hao and Justin, currently ranked No. 23 and No. 40 in the world, including Aidil Sholeh Ali Sadikin, are expected to be named alongside No. 83 Zii Jia, after earlier concerns over injury.
The 27-year-old finally made his appearance in training with the national squad on Wednesday at the Academy Badminton Malaysia in Bukit Kiara, taking part in match play with independent players Aidil, Kong Wei Xiang and Eogene Ewe.
There are also concerns in the men’s doubles department after world No. 6 pair Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun lost to Chinese duo He Jiting-Ren Xiangyu.
Wan Arif Wan Junaidi-Yap Roy King and Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin, who are both in the mix for the final Thomas Cup spot, also failed to impress after losing their respective matches.
Only Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik showed their quality as Malaysia’s main hope after advancing past the opening round.
The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) had earlier set a target of winning the Thomas Cup in Horsens, Denmark, from April 24-May 3, which would end the country’s 34-year wait since their last triumph in Kuala Lumpur in 1992.
