NATIONAL badminton legend Datuk Rashid Sidek is confident Malaysia can break its 34-year Thomas Cup drought in the 2026 edition in Horsens, Denmark.
He highlighted the team’s strength, particularly in men’s doubles, where Malaysia dominates with world-class pairs Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani and Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik.
Rashid stressed the need for improvement in singles, citing Lee Zii Jia and Leong Jun Hao as key players.
“If we have two strong doubles and two competitive singles players, the team will be stable enough to win the Thomas Cup,“ he said during the launch of the badminton film Sentuhan Wira.
The film, directed by Lenny Ooi, revisits Malaysia’s historic 1992 Thomas Cup victory over Indonesia. Rashid, a key player in that squad, hopes the movie will inspire current shuttlers.
Produced by Victory Pictures, the project involved Rashid and Datuk Cheah Soon Kit as advisors to ensure historical accuracy.
Malaysia has won the Thomas Cup five times, with the last triumph in 1992. Rashid also commented on Iskandar Zulkarnain’s new role as national women’s singles coach, acknowledging the challenge ahead.
Iskandar previously coached Ireland’s Nhat Nguyen to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
