IT was 2018 in Bangkok. I watched in dismay as Malaysia collapsed to a 1-3 defeat at the hands of Indonesia in the Thomas Cup quarter-finals.
Lee Chong Wei as the lead star dutifully won all his matches, including the one against Anthony Ginting on that day but the others could not deliver, especially the doubles players.
I wrote a review piece after the flop, predicting a probable young line-up for 2020 – the four singles as Lee Zii Jia, Cheam June Wei, Leong Jun Hao and Tan Jia Wei (reserve) and the three doubles pairs as Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi, Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik and Goh Sze Wei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani (it was on May 26, 2018).