The sterling performance displayed by the young squad in Hyderabad recently was able to paint a picture on how Malaysia will approach the Thomas Cup in Kunshan, China this May.
According to Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Norza Zakaria, the move of allowing the young players to participate in the Badminton Asia Team Championships (BATC) (Thomas Cup qualifying) was successful.
“The step (fielding young players) we took clearly showed us our path for the Thomas Cup finals. We are now confident of lining up a formidable squad as we were unable to find the best combination of men’s singles prior to India,” he said as quoted by Harian Metro.
There are obviously a few names that are capable of lining up alongside Lee Chong Wei.
“Apart from Chong Wei, there are Chong Wei Feng, Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin and Zulfadli Zulkiffli. This is the combination that comes to mind which will partner our senior player. Our men’s doubles also showed a vast improvement during the BATC.
“I am delighted with the enthusiasm they showed in India. If we decide to send the best two pairs, we would have a standby doubles team of equal quality,” Norza Zakaria added.
In the meantime, he praised Iskandar after an impeccable performance in Hyderabad, which ultimately boosted his Badminton World Federation (BWF) world ranking.
“Iskandar was not pressured at all in India. He seized his opportunity and never lost a single match,” Mohamad Norza Zakaria concluded after attending the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games Federation Council meeting yesterday.
Other posts by Prashant Kharbanda
