KUALA LUMPUR: National men's singles shuttler Justin Hoh was not even born yet when Malaysia last won the Thomas Cup back in 1992.
In fact, the 20-year-old vaguely remembers the last time Malaysia made the final of the world team championship was 10 years ago.
Fast forward to now, and the former junior sensation can now write his own story after being included in the squad for this year's challenge in Chengdu, China.
Justin will not allow himself to be distracted by the adversities faced by the Malaysian camp in the run-up to the Thomas Cup, and wants his debut to be a memorable one.
"As a 10-year-old, I never once thought I'd be part of the Thomas Cup team.
"I remember watching Malaysia play in the 2014 final in New Delhi, but that was about it.
"It feels surreal that I'm now in the squad, and I want to make it count," Justin said yesterday,
Once touted to be the next big thing in Malaysian men's singles, Justin's rise to the top came to a sudden halt when the Kuala Lumpur-born shuttler suffered an Achilles tendon rupture last year.
After an eight-month layoff, Justin's comeback to competitive action was again short-lived, this time by a knee injury.
From reaching a career high world No. 48, Justin has since slipped down to No. 233.
However, the young shuttler is not in the mood to dwell into the past. He feels he is in a good space and is raring to go again.
"I'm looking forward to the Thomas Cup and that's what matters most. Preparations have been great so far, I'm really excited," added Justin who will be the fourth singles player in the Thomas Cup team.
The other men's singles players in the squad are world No. 10 Lee Zii Jia, former Asian junior champion Leong Jun Hao and Cheam June Wei.
Initially BAM had included Ng Tze Yong in the squad, but due to a rare post-surgery condition, the world No. 18 had to be withdrawn.
