KUALA LUMPUR: National No. 3 Leong Jun Hao has expressed his readiness to lead Malaysia's charge if circumstances require it at the Thomas Cup in Chengdu, China, from April 28-May 5.
The 24-year-old is all but assured of being named in the squad.
The only question is in which order of play he will be involved.
Jun Hao, who played as the third singles in all his previous three appearances since the 2018 edition, could now find himself tasked with assuming the highly challenging first singles duty this time around.
This situation arises as Malaysia may be without their top-ranked player, Lee Zii Jia.
The former All England champion has informed the BA of Malaysia (BAM) of his decision to skip the Thomas Cup to focus on his preparations for the Paris Olympics.
On paper, Ng Tze Yong would be expected to fill the void, but his participation remains uncertain as he has not recovered from a back injury.
This leaves Jun Hao as the potential alternative should either of them be absent.
The final of the Asia Team Championships in February marked the first time Jun Hao played as the first singles, as both Zii Jia and Tze Yong were unavailable due to illness and injury, respectively.
However, the task proved too heavy for him as he fell to world No. 17 Weng Hong Yang as Malaysia lost 3-0 to China.
Jun Hao is unfazed by the possibility of being the first to lead the battle again if the coaches entrust him to do so.
With Malaysia drawn in Group D alongside Denmark, Hong Kong and Algeria, Jun Hao might face the daunting task of going up against world No. 1 Viktor Axelsen and No. 18 Lee Cheuk Yiu.
"I have to be ready for any possibility," said the former Asian junior champion.
"I just have to make sure that I deliver my best performance regardless of the order in which I am fielded.
"Having accumulated team event experience from previous editions, I hope to capitalise on them to help the team."
With Jun Hao having never played against Axelsen or Cheuk Yiu, an element of surprise cannot be ruled out.
Heavily favoured players often find it challenging against unfamiliar opponents.
Jun Hao may not have strong results to show thus far this year, but he has scored a couple of upsets.
At the Spain Masters last week, Jun Hao stunned the recently crowned Swiss Open champion, Lin Chun Yi of Taiwan, in the last 16.
In January, he also defeated world No. 12 Kenta Nishimoto of Japan in the first round of the Indonesia Masters.