THOUGH he had left the national team, independent player Lee Zii Jia is rallying everyone for the Thomas Cup.
The 2021 All England champion, who joined the first day of Thomas Cup training yesterday, has called for a concerted effort from Malaysian players, whether they are BAM or professional players, for the prestigious event.
World No 7 Zii Jia said Thomas Cup training is an opportunity for the players to build up team spirit and camaraderie.
Zii Jia was among 25 shuttlers who joined the national training camp for the Badminton Asia Championships on April 26-May 1 in Manila and the Thomas and Uber Cup (from May 8-15 in Bangkok.
Zii Jia, 24, has seen for himself how team spirit is vital after leading the Malaysian side to the Asia team title for the first time since 1965, in February.
Zii Jia said he is excited to "reconnect" with the other national players, seniors and juniors.
"I'm excited to be back at the BAM training camp... I get to meet all my friends and the juniors as well. I'm looking forward to good training sessions," he said yesterday.
"I think the environment in the team is very important, especially those going for the Thomas Cup. We need to have strong team spirit and bonding.
"The environment looks good. We also have the Sea Games team training here. I hope I can assist them in their preparation as well.
"For the Thomas Cup, my personal target is to at least reach the quarter-finals. We have to face Japan and we can't take the other opponents lightly. We need to beat Japan but it will not be easy."
In the Thomas Cup, Malaysia are in Group D with 2014 champions Japan, England and New Zealand. Last year, in Aarhus, Denmark, Malaysia lost 3-0 in the quarter-finals to eventual champions Indonesia.