CHENGDU, Five years ago, Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) unveiled 'Project 24' which aimed among others to secure a gold medal at the 2024 Olympic Games and a Thomas Cup 2024 final slot. Fast forward today, what unfolded at Chengdu High-Tech Zone Sports Centre here have seen disappointment in one of the objectives of 'Project 24'. On Saturday, Malaysia's bid to end the 32-year drought of lifting the Thomas Cup ended in tatters after going down 1-3 to hosts China in the semi-finals. The setback has raised questions whether 'Project 24' is capable of creating a formidable team that has the ability to be a world beater, as that was also one of its primary objectives. While some may view that making the first semi-finals in Thomas Cup after eight years as a positive outcome, it is undeniable that Malaysia perhaps would be able to clinch Thomas Cup with a squad boasting more top-notch shuttlers. One of the glaring weaknesses in the current squad is the lack of depth among men's singles players as it takes more than one player to win Thomas Cup. Academy Badminton Malaysia coaching director Rexy Mainaky even stated that it needs more than professional men's singles shuttler, Lee Zii Jia, to beat China in the last four. Zii Jia lost tamely to current world number two player, Shi Yu Qi, 19-21, 5-21. Taking China's squad as example, all of their men's singles - Shi Yu Qi, Li Shi Feng and Lu Guang Zu - have equal strength while there is still gap between Zii Jia and other players fielded like Leong Jun Hao, Cheam June Wei and Justin Hoh. Even more worrying is that, Zii Jia is the only local shuttler with top 10 world ranking while Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) current top player, Ng Tze Yong, who was absence due to back injury ranked 18th followed by Jun Hao (37th), June Wei (63rd) and Justin (233rd). As such, men's singles players especially those under BAM need to buck-up if they aim to win more titles and help the country win the Thomas Cup. As for Zii Jia, the question remained on whether h e justified the 'investment' made by BAM given that the national body need to pay him every time he played here due to 'image rights'. The world number 10 had won three and lost two throughout the world's most prestigious badminton team tournament here. However, all three victories that the Kedahan recorded were against lower-ranked players while he was still struggling to overcome higher-ranked players including a straight set loss to world number one from Denmark Viktor Axelsen 16-21, 22-24, during the final Group D match. His form in Chengdu would surely raise some doubts about his ability to secure a gold medal in 2024 Olympic Games. In the meantime, there is still a room for improvement for two doubles - Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik and Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani - following their show in Thomas Cup 2024. Although capable of fighting against world's top 10 pair, Aaron-Wooi Yik, ranked fifth, still need to be more consistent ahead of Paris 2024 while Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin must know to deal with conve rting crucial points to win the match. 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 in the court. Though Zii Jia opted not to join the the national team's one-week training camp at Academy Badminton Malaysia in Bukit Kiara before the Thomas Cup, but his commitment towards his teammates here was commendable and praised by Rexy. In fact, Rexy said the 26-year-old was also the first to show up during the meeting session with psychologist Frederick Tan post semi-finals tie last Saturday. Though it came as no surprise that the national women's team crashed out early again from Uber Cup, but the manner in which some of national players performed was disappointing. While It's true that the mental strength is required to perform well but where's the fighting spirit? Why did some players drop their head and threw in their towels so fast? Ergo, BAM needs to adopt a radical approach in a bid to improve the standard of national women's camp. This should include a strategic long-term plan to enhance the Malaysian women's badminton, putting more effort to unearth 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 bagged their 11th Thomas Cup title by defeating Indonesia 3-1 and claimed their 16th Uber Cup title with 3-0 victory over Indonesia too on Sunday. If this year's results are any indication, it's worth noting that China could conquer the 2024 Olympic Games and other players especially from Malaysians need to elevate their game to fend off strong challenge from them. One of the tournament's highlights was indeed the rise of Taiwan men's squad as they smashed their way to the semi-finals for the first time by upsetting 2016 champions led by Axelsen, 3-1, in the quarter-finals. In another development, former two-time men's singles world c hampion, 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. Momota, who had harboured hopes of lifting his second Thomas Cup with Japan, decided to retire from international competition after a challenging period following a car crash on the Maju Expressway in Malaysia in early 2020. Now that Thomas and Uber Cup Finals 2024 have concluded, BAM can count on their shuttlers to pursue 2024 Olympic Games gold in Paris, which kicks off from July 26-Aug 11, ensuring that 'Project 24' is not deemed a failure. Source: BERNAMA News Agency