Malaysia must urgently rebuild its men’s singles programme and produce world top-10 players if it hopes to end its Thomas Cup drought, according to sports analysts following the national team’s quarterfinal defeat to China.
KUALA LUMPUR: The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) has been urged to formulate a clear and structured long-term plan to produce world-class singles players after Malaysia’s latest Thomas Cup campaign exposed familiar weaknesses in the department.
Sports critic Nor Bakti Alias said Malaysia’s 3-0 quarter-final defeat to China at the 2026 Thomas Cup once again highlighted the national team’s biggest weakness — the inability of its singles players to consistently deliver points at the highest level.
“We cannot continue to rely on luck or past reputation. If we want to go far in the Thomas Cup, we must have singles players in the top 10. Right now, that is our main weakness,” Nor Bakti told theSun.
While acknowledging China may no longer possess the same dominance of previous generations, Nor Bakti stressed the world champions remain the benchmark.
“They are still the best team in the world. The issue is not China — the issue is our own performance, which is still disappointing,” he said.
Nor Bakti added that Malaysia’s struggles in singles have placed excessive pressure on the doubles combinations, often leaving little margin for error.
“We cannot depend on singles to contribute points, and that becomes a problem. When the first doubles pair fails, it immediately puts pressure on the rest of the team.”
He pointed to the quarter-final defeat against China, where the loss of Malaysia’s opening doubles pair shifted pressure onto younger singles players such as Justin Hoh, who is still gaining experience at elite level.
“When your first pair loses, the pressure shifts to the next match. For players who are still relatively new, that becomes very difficult to handle.”
Nor Bakti also highlighted deeper structural concerns in Malaysia’s singles development pipeline, particularly the low world rankings of backup players.
“Our singles players are struggling because their rankings are too low to compete in major tournaments. To play in top-tier events like Super 1000, you need to be in the top 30.”
“If you are not there, you are stuck playing qualifiers or lower-level tournaments.”
He explained that having to navigate qualification rounds places additional physical strain on players.
“You might have to play two or three matches in a day just to qualify, and then continue in the main draw. That takes a toll.”
Nor Bakti also warned Malaysia risks being overtaken by emerging badminton nations if immediate action is not taken.
“Other countries are catching up, while we are either stagnant or declining. That is the worrying part.”
He added Malaysia has yet to produce a consistent successor in men’s singles since the retirement of Datuk Lee Chong Wei.
Echoing those concerns, commentator Datuk Pekan Ramli said Malaysia must begin rebuilding its singles strength immediately if it hopes to challenge for future Thomas Cup titles.
“If we want to win the Thomas Cup, we have to start now. We must ensure our singles players are strong,” said Pekan.
“We need at least two to three singles players in the world’s top 10. Not just doubles. Only then can we have a balanced team capable of reaching the final.”
He warned Malaysia’s current singles depth remains insufficient, with most players ranked outside the world’s top 20.
“If our singles rankings are in the 20s or beyond, we cannot depend on them. We need three strong singles players. If we only rely on two doubles pairs, it is not enough.”
