WHY do we not see more than one quality men's singles player in Malaysia?
Is it because the nation's top-ranked player is given preferential treatment, while others are used as a supporting cast during training.
And does the training system in the national team provide a healthy environment for other shuttlers to move up and make inroads?
These are the questions the BA of Malaysia (BAM) must answer as fans are also puzzled on why the country is finding it difficult to produce a bigger pool of quality and consistent men's singles shuttlers.
In the past, former world No 1 Lee Chong Wei was head and shoulders above the rest in the Malaysian camp, and no other shuttler could match his skill and results. The presence of others was almost non-existent.
Iskandar Zulkarnain, Soong Joo Ven, Soo Teck Zhi and Yeoh Seng Zoe, who were around during Chong Wei's time, failed to make the grade and eventually faded away.
And after Chong Wei's retirement in 2019, Lee Zii Jia suddenly rose to prominence to become the nation's top shuttler and a world-beater. He has since turned professional.
The preferential treatment, if it is true, is only weakening Malaysian badminton.
In Bangkok, Malaysia were heavily dependent on Zii Jia and the doubles pairs for points in the Thomas Cup.
And when Malaysia failed to win points from all three events, the team were defeated by India in the quarter-finals.
It has been the same in the last few editions of the Thomas Cup.
A shuttler, who wished to remain anonymous, is angry and upset as he was not given proper support to grow and become a world-beater when he was a national player.
And he has shed light on the underlying issues within the national team, which are not conducive for the fringe and back-up players to make progress.
Claiming that BAM coaches give preferential treatment to top players, the former shuttler said the national body must do away with the policy if they hope to produce more Chong Weis and Zii Jias in the future.
"During my time in the national team, the coaches were too focused on one particular player.
"I was upset then. I thought everyone would be given equal treatment to progress.
"When I was in the national team, coaches would set programmes specifically tailored for this top player, and the others had to train accordingly.
"As every player is not the same, some programmes did not suit them. The training sessions were not specific enough.
"In the end, only the top player benefited from it while the rest had to play catch up.
"Every player is different and needs training programmes to suit their standard and skill.
"And what is the point of having several coaches in a department when most are assigned to take care of just one player.
"Each coach should beassigned to take two or three players.
"The preferential treatment given to certain players is not healthy. It also affects relationships. I have to admit that until today a few of us are not close to this former top player because of the experiences at the national camp."
The shuttler revealed that he did raise his grouses to the coaches during his time in the national team, and things did change albeit temporarily.
"Yes. I did speak up to the coaches about my concerns, and they made some changes.
"However, in a matter of weeks, it was all back to square one," he recalled.