CHENGDU: Five years ago, the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) unveiled 'Project 24', aiming among other goals to secure a gold medal at the 2024 Olympic Games and a spot in the 2024 Thomas Cup final.
Fast forward to today, the events at the Chengdu High-Tech Zone Sports Centre have seen disappointment in one of the objectives of 'Project 24'.
On Saturday, Malaysia's bid to end the 32-year drought of winning the Thomas Cup ended in tatters after they went down 3-1 to hosts China in the semi-finals.
This setback has raised questions about whether 'Project 24' is capable of creating a formidable team with the potential to compete at a world-class level, which was one of its primary objectives.
While some may see reaching the semi-finals of the Thomas Cup after eight years as a positive outcome, it is undeniable that Malaysia may have had a better chance of winning the Thomas Cup with a squad comprising more top-notch shuttlers.
Using China's squad as an example, all of their men's singles players — Shi Yu Qi, Li Shi Feng, and Lu Guang Zu — have similar strength, highlighting the gap between Zii Jia and other players like Leong Jun Hao, Cheam June Wei, and Justin Hoh.
Therefore, men's singles players, especially those under BAM, need to improve their performance if they aim to win more titles and help the country win the Thomas Cup.
As for Zii Jia, questions remain about whether he has justified the 'investment' made by BAM, given that the national body needs to pay him every time he plays here due to 'image rights'.
His form in Chengdu would surely raise some doubts about his ability to secure a gold medal at the 2024 Olympic Games.
In the meantime, there is still room for improvement for the two doubles pairs — Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik and Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani — following their performance in the 2024 Thomas Cup.
Although capable of competing against the world's top 10 pairs, Aaron-Wooi Yik, ranked fifth, still need to be more consistent ahead of Paris 2024, while Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin must learn to convert crucial points to win matches.
Besides team performance, the team spirit was remarkable as they kept cheering loudly inside the venue to inspire their teammates until the last drop of sweat on the court.
Though Zii Jia opted not to join the national team's one-week training camp at the Academy Badminton Malaysia in Bukit Kiara before the Thomas Cup, his commitment towards his teammates here was commendable and praised by BAM coaching director Rexy Mainaky.
In fact, Rexy said the 26-year-old was also the first to show up during the meeting session with psychologist Frederick Tan after the semi-finals tie last Saturday.
Though it came as no surprise that the national women's team crashed out early again from the Uber Cup, the manner in which some of the national players performed was disappointing.
Therefore, BAM needs to adopt a radical approach to improve the standard of the national women's camp.
This should include a strategic long-term plan to enhance Malaysian women's badminton, putting more effort into unearthing new talents nationwide and nurturing them to reduce the gap between other world-class players.
Meanwhile, the hosts, China, unquestionably asserted their dominance in both the Thomas and Uber Cup Finals 2024. China secured their 11th Thomas Cup title by defeating Indonesia 3-1 and claimed their 16th Uber Cup title with a 3-0 victory over Indonesia too on Sunday.
If this year's results are any indication, it's worth noting that China could dominate the 2024 Olympic Games, and other players, especially from Malaysia, need to elevate their game to fend off strong challenges from them.
One of the tournament's highlights was indeed the rise of the Taiwan men's squad as they reached the semi-finals for the first time by upsetting the 2016 champions led by Axelsen, 3-1, in the quarter-finals.
In another development, former two-time men's singles world champion Kento Momota of Japan made a low-key exit from the international scene without hitting a shuttlecock following his country's 1-3 defeat to Malaysia in the last eight.
Now that the Thomas and Uber Cup Finals have concluded, BAM can count on their shuttlers to pursue gold at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, which kicks off from July 26-Aug 11, ensuring that 'Project 24' is not deemed a failure. - Bernama