PETALING JAYA: Singles shuttler Lee Zii Jia has urged his teammates to stand together despite the ups and downs in the Thomas Cup Finals.
Yesterday, Malaysia defeated Finland 4-1 in the Group B tie but it was marred by the shock defeat of Leong Jun Hao in the first singles at Forum Horsens in Denmark.
The 26-year-old Jun Hao was out of sorts as he slumped to a surprise 17-21, 15-21 defeat to world No. 62 Joakim Oldorff.
World No. 25 Jun Hao was rested for the opening tie against England, where Justin Hoh and Aidil Sholeh Ali Sadikin both lost their matches, leaving Malaysia under pressure before Zii Jia stepped up to seal a 3-2 win on Saturday.
Zii Jia, who has kept a clean slate so far by beating Ananda Daniswara 21-19, 21-10 in 35 minutes yesterday, rallied support for his teammates.
“You might be down today and become the hero tomorrow. You never know,” said the 28-year-old Zii Jia.
“So I still believe in my teammates, as I said, especially Justin and Jun Hao as well.
“Although they lost their matches, I do not think it will affect our confidence in them.
“I still have faith that they will bounce back and deliver strong performances against Japan.”
Jun Hao was visibly upset especially after having beaten Oldorff three years ago in the opening round of the Arctic Open.
“I feel disappointed with myself after the performance just now.
“I think the start was quite good, but after that I suddenly felt something went wrong,” said Jun Hao in an interview with the Badminton World Federation.
Jun Hao now cannot afford another off day, especially if he is picked to face Japan tomorrow.
The tie against Japan will decide the Group B winners, with the group champions holding an advantage in the quarter-final draw.
Malaysia defeated the Japanese side 3-1 in the quarter-finals in the 2024 Chengdu edition before going on to finish with the bronze medal.
