KUALA LUMPUR, April 14 — Professional player Liew Daren feels that Malaysia has to win their Thomas Cup 2022 opening match against England if they want to end their 30-year title drought. 

Daren, 35, said a win against England in Group D would strengthen their chance of qualifying for the quarter-finals and boost the players’ confidence in the world men’s team championship, which will be held in Bangkok from May 8 to 15.

Daren, the most senior player called up for the national squad’s centralised training, said he would not want to think too much about Badminton Association of Malaysia’s (BAM) target of qualifying for the final but would take one match at a time if selected.

"To qualify for the quarter-finals we have to beat England. I think New Zealand should be no problem. We need to focus on one match at a time; a win against England will give us confidence for the subsequent matches.

"This is a team event … team efforts count. If all cooperate, anything is possible,” said the world number 35 when met at the Academy Badminton Malaysia here today.

The other team in Group D are 2014 champions Japan.

Daren, who played in the 2012 and 2014 editions, said he was prepared to play a brotherly role in guiding and motivating the young players in the squad.

In thanking BAM for the national call-up, Daren said this could be his last Thomas Cup.

Yesterday, BAM named 13 players led by singles ace Lee Zii Jia for Thomas Cup centralised training from tomorrow until April 23. Only 12 players will be selected for the tournament.

Apart from the Thomas Cup squad, the Uber Cup and SEA Games teams also checked into camp today and will begin training tomorrow.

However, those currently playing in the Korea Masters will report for training later. — Bernama