Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin has begged national badminton player Datuk Lee Chong Wei to reconsider his decision and stay on for the upcoming Thomas Cup in 2018.
Khairy Jamaluddin believes Lee Chong Wei has two or three years left of greatness in him but mentioned that the next Thomas Cup squad will be based around talented young players.
“Despite him (Chong Wei) telling us that this (2016) will be his last Thomas Cup, I am confident that he will still be a great player in 2018,” he said as quoted by Utusan Malaysia.
“He will be 35 years-old then and he could be integral as our third singles player.
The United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) youth wing president has admitted that this edition of the Thomas Cup may be the last for Chong Wei Feng, Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong, but the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) and the Ministry of Youth and Sports are working together to start early preparations for the upcoming Thomas Cup.
“The likes of Iskandar Zulkarnain, Goh V Shem and Tan Wee Kiong must step up now.”
Malaysia surprisingly lost 3-2 to Denmark in the Thomas Cup semi-final despite taking a 2-0 lead, and the Danish went on to beat Indonesia in the final to lift the trophy for the first time.
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