PETALING JAYA: This is our shot at glory and Malaysians are standing strongly behind the Thomas Cup players as they continue their fight tonight.
Young and old alike applauded the team when they qualified for the semi-finals for the first time after eight years on Thursday.
The Malaysian team knocked out Japan 3-1 in the quarter-finals in Chengdu, China.
This was after men’s doubles Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin Rumsani stunned Japan’s Akira Koga and Taichi Saito in the third game to give Malaysia the winning point.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim gave the thumbs up to the team in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
“Congratulations to Malaysia for qualifying for the semi-finals of the Thomas Cup,” he said.
Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh could not contain her joy as she commended the shuttlers.
“Congratulations to team Malaysia for advancing to the semi-finals. Majulah sukan untuk negara! (let’s advance sports for the country),” she posted on X, along with a video of the team celebrating their victory.
Malaysians flooded social media with comments showing their support for the team as well as celebratory messages on The Star’s Facebook page.
“Well done boys. Raise the (Malaysian) flag high,” Ruban Anparasan said.
“That’s the team spirit, congrats! Maintain that, and Malaysia will have a chance against China and reach the final!” Edmund Khoo said.
“Congratulations Goh and Izzuddin. Such a marvellous feat will go to history books as Thomas Cup heroes,” Imran Mohd Salleh said.
“The doubles pair has prepared well for the great moment to deliver the winning point to the country as proud Malaysians,” Jeremy Lim added.
In today’s semi-finals, Malaysia will have a showdown against China, which knocked out defending champions India.
Yeoh announced that the semi-final match will be screened in 15 locations nationwide for Malaysians to support their team.
Among the locations are Dataran Merdeka in Jalan Raja, Kuala Lumpur, and Dataran Putrajaya, Precinct 3 in Putrajaya.
“Come out and cheer on our boys this Saturday!” she said on her Facebook page.
