KUALA LUMPUR: With uncertainty surrounding the status of both Lee Zii Jia and Ng Tze Yong, national men’s singles shuttler Leong Jun Hao is prepared to assume the role of the country’s main singles player in the 2024 Thomas Cup Finals.
Jun Hao expressed his readiness to shoulder the responsibility, if allowed to represent the country at the prestigious badminton team tournament, set to take place at the Chengdu High-Tech Zone Sports Center, Chengdu, China.
“Yes, I must be ready. I believe the experience that I gained in the 2022 edition in Bangkok will surely help me and the team,” he said when met after a training session.
Asked whether the current situation surrounding the men’s singles camp ahead of the 2024 Thomas Cup Finals worries him, the current world number 37 player said that he just needs to focus on himself and play his best game in Chengdu.
Meanwhile, the 24-year-old expressed his desire to enhance his fitness and consistency following his outing in the Spain Masters 2024, last week.
The Kuala Lumpur-born went down to Taiwanese shuttler, Chou Tien Chen, 16-21, 12-21, in the last eight, which was also his best performance for this year, after having faced early eliminations in four previous tournaments since January.
Things are quite chaotic with the current national men’s badminton team ahead of the 2024 Thomas Cup Finals as Zii Jia is still unsure of joining the squad to Chengdu.
Tze Yong, on the other hand, is still on the road to recovery following a back surgery recently.
Malaysia, who are seeded fifth for the 2024 Thomas Cup Finals, have been drawn in Group D with European giants and 2016 champions Denmark, Hong Kong and Algeria.
The 2024 Thomas Cup Finals will kick off from April 27 until May 5.
