National professional player Lee Zii Jia admits he needs to regain confidence ahead of the 2024 Thomas Cup quarter-finals, after losing to world number one Viktor Axelsen on Tuesday.
The player ranked 10th in the world said that there is still a gap between him and Axelsen who saw the champion from Denmark win 21-16, 24-22 in the last match of Group D stage, seeing Malaysia lose 2-3.
“Today’s match has a lot to improve. I also set my personal target too high and expected to play better today.
“Everyone knows that in the last two or three years, I’ve had fluctuating performance and struggled to find my rhythm. I’m not satisfied and there’s still a lot to improve,” he told reporters on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, national men’s doubles player Aaron Chia admitted to being confused by a controversial call by the service judge who claimed that he performed a spin serve when leading 19-15 in the second set.
However, Aaron said that their focus was not affected by the controversy and admitted that leading with a comfortable position made them calmer to contribute the first point for Malaysia with a 17-21, 21-17, 21-16 victory.
The badminton spin serve technique is temporarily banned in all tournaments by the Badminton World Federation (BWF), which is the technique of the player holding the badminton and flicking it with a phantom finger before hitting with the racket which adds spin and makes it difficult for the opponent to return the shot.
Nur Izzuddin Rumsani who partnered with Goh Sze Feri for the national team’s second point hopes they can continue their winning streak today, in the quarter-finals later.
The 233rd ranked singles player Justin Hoh who displayed a proud performance when he did not give an easy way to Rasmus Gemke before falling 13-21, 21-19, 13-21 to the 26th ranked player admitted that he learned a meaningful lesson in high intensity action .
The 20-year-old player also admitted in the third set that it was difficult for him to match Gemke’s speed and thus conceded that he could not contribute a winning point for the national team.
Malaysia, who have confirmed their place in the quarter-finals, started their 2024 Thomas Cup campaign in style after winning 5-0 respectively against Hong Kong on Saturday and Algeria on Monday.
Denmark started with wins over Algeria on Saturday and Hong Kong on Monday, each winning 5-0.
The 2024 Thomas Cup runs until May 5. – Named
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