KUALA LUMPUR – Despite Malaysia successfully concluding their Thomas Cup campaign with a bronze medal, the reality remains that the nation’s badminton squad is still grappling with a talent drought in the men’s singles category.
Since the retirement of the national legend, Datuk Lee Chong Wei, in 2019, Malaysia has been struggling to produce formidable and consistent men’s singles players on the international stage.
Aside from Lee Zii Jia, who opted to pursue a solo career as a professional player, the remaining players within the national setup have yet to meet the standard of world-class players.
This sentiment was echoed by Akademi Badminton Malaysia coaching director Rexy Mainaky, who highlighted a notable lack of self-belief among players like Leong Jun Hao, contributing to their inconsistency on the court.
“Our players, for example, Jun Hao, rely entirely on the coach’s instructions. I used to be a player myself, and if you look at players like Li Shi Feng, they have instincts about what they need to do on the court and what shots to execute.
“Players like Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik and Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzudin rarely look back at the coach for guidance during matches because they know what they are doing.
“I think moving forward, he (Jun Hao) needs to be braver because this is hard to see with the naked eye. Even after his match against Denmark’s Anders Antonsen, I advised him to watch how Rasmus Gemke plays and his attitude on the court.
“It’s not just about skills and playing style; it’s more than that. We lack these things among our singles players,” said Rexy.
For this edition, besides Zii Jia and Jun Hao, the Malaysian squad also fielded young player Justin Hoh and summoned another professional player, Cheam June Wei, who contributed in a match against Algeria in Group D action.
Earlier, Malaysia had already lost the services of Ng Tze Yong, who was forced to withdraw at the last minute due to a back injury. – May 6, 2024