MAYBE it was mental fatigue or just a difference in quality. But Malaysia will still have plenty of positives to take home despite exiting the Thomas Cup following a 3-0 defeat to Indonesia in Friday's quarter-final clash.
The BA of Malaysia (BAM) took a brave stand by naming several youngsters for the tournament, and they did well to meet the target.
However, it offers no guarantee that these young players would become world-beaters one day. More effort must be taken to ensure these players become successful in the future.
In the opening match against Indonesia, Olympic bronze medallist Anthony Ginting gave his team the best possible start by beating Lee Zii Jia 21-15, 21-17.
Malaysia's hopes of winning the tie became harder when Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik were outplayed by Marcus Fernaldi Gideon-Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo for the first time in three meetings, falling to a 21-17, 16-21, 21-15 defeat.
World No 82 Ng Tze Young in second singles gave a good account, but it was just a tall order as he went down fighting to world No 7 Jonatan Christie 14-21, 21-19, 21-16.
The young team, featuring mostly Thomas Cup debutants, deserves credit for fighting hard against higher-ranked opponents.
But the team were over-dependent on Zii Jia, and when the captain was unable to deliver, the rest struggled.
Aaron-Wooi Yik were also expected to win all of their matches in Aarhus.
In the Sudirman Cup, Zii Jia and Aaron-Wooi Yik did well to help the team reach the semi-finals, but they could not repeat their form in the Thomas Cup.
Men's singles Tze Yong, Cheam June Wei and Leong Jun Hao have the potential but need more exposure.
To become contenders in team events, Malaysia must have a balanced team of quality players to shine.
The BAM and their coaching team must continue pushing the singles shuttlers to reach the level of Zii Jia.
BAM coaching director Wong Choong Hann admitted that the gap between the other Malaysian shuttlers and the top-10 players is still big.
"We did our best against Indonesia, but it was just not enough to win," Choong Hann told Bernama.
"I saw that we had a chance to score three points, but we could not achieve it. Indonesia were the better team on the day.
"The good thing is that these young players have now experienced the intense level of pressure and challenge that comes from playing in a team competition.
"I hope this will also give them the awareness that they need to be better prepared, both mentally and physically, in the future."
