National shuttler Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin has revealed that Khairy Jamaluddin’s admission that this might be his last Thomas Cup as Youth and Sports Minister has inspired the the badminton squad to win the prestigious trophy for the first time in over two decades.
Iskandar, who will be the second singles player for Malaysia in Wunshan, China, said that the admission was made by Khairy Jamaluddin during a meet-and-greet with the players.
“YB Khairy met us to give us a few words of inspiration and to increase our motivation. He told us this may be his last Thomas Cup as Minister,” Iskandar said as quoted by Utusan.
“We will definitely do our best for him and the country, considering that he is one of my idols.
The Thomas and Uber Cup squads departed Kuala Lumpur for Wunshan, China yesterday to begin their hunt for Thomas Cup glory, which begins this Sunday and ends on May 22.
Malaysia last won the Thomas Cup in 1992 after defeating Indonesia 3-2 in the final. They came close to lifting their sixth title but were beaten 3-2 by Japan in the 2014 final in India.
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