BANGKOK – Clueless and shocked. That was the reaction from Malaysia’s third singles Leong Jun Hao after he failed to keep alive Malaysia’s hope of ending a 30-year title drought in the Thomas Cup here.
Jun Hao lost to India’s Prannoy H.S. 13-21, 8-21 in a crunch match to determine a place in the semi-finals of the 2022 Thomas Cup Finals at Impact Arena.
“I just don’t know what to say. I failed to contribute to Malaysia,” a teary-eyed Jun Hao told reporters when met after the match in the mixed zone here.
India handed a painful 3-2 defeat to Malaysia and created their own history of reaching their maiden semi-finals in the world’s most prestigious badminton team tournament.
However, Jun Hao, ranked 124th in the world, vowed to come back stronger and make Malaysia proud in the future.
Malaysia’s men’s doubles shuttler Nur Izzuddin Rumsani said today’s match did not go their way, while his partner Goh Sze Fei admitted they found it very difficult to score points against Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty because of their strong defence.
Satwiksairaj-Chirag inspired India’s comeback by levelling the tie 1-1 after brushing aside Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin 21-19, 21-15 in the second match.
Meanwhile, the 29-year-old Prannoy described the third singles as a “do or die” match, saying he is proud to help steer his team into the semis tomorrow.
“The pressure is always there when the score line is tied at 2-2. I feel that this edition is the window for us to go all out,” he said.
The world number 23 shuttler also believed that on his day, he can beat even the best players in the world.
“I know myself very much. I can beat anybody, but I need to be more consistent because that’s what makes you play better,” he added.
Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu said the Malaysian shuttlers were nervous and too cautious, thus resulting in their shocking 3-2 defeat by India in the Thomas Cup quarter-finals last night.
He, however, was quick to point out that the shuttlers had done their best and that luck just wasn’t on their side.
“Our players can do better. I saw them play in the previous matches, they did very well. All our shuttlers tried their very best. That was all we could hope for. However, luck was not with us,” he told Bernama when met at the Impact Arena here.
Earlier, Faizal and Malaysian Ambassador to Thailand Datuk Jojie Samuel were at the Impact Arena to watch the Thomas Cup quarter-final tie between Malaysia and India.
Faizal hopes that the national shuttlers will continue to train diligently for the upcoming competitions.
“We’ll go again at the next edition of the Thomas Cup,” he said.
Malaysia last won the prestigious Thomas Cup 30 years ago, in 1992, in Kuala Lumpur. – Bernama, May 13, 2022
