HORSENS (Denmark), May 2 — Malaysia’s disappointing exit from the Thomas Cup Finals 2026 has prompted a blunt admission from national singles coaching director Kenneth Jonassen.

Jonassen said he takes full responsibility for the team’s shortcomings, describing their overall performance as ‘simply not good enough’, after bowing out in the quarterfinals against defending champions China, 0-3, in Forum Horsens, here, yesterday.

“Obviously, for the full campaign, I’m very disappointed that our lack of performance because we came in with too many flaws in our game. For that, of course, I take full responsibility. It’s simply not good enough. So, that is the frustration part right now,” he said in a post-match interview.

Rather than isolating the loss to China, the Dane pointed to a week-long struggle, particularly within the men’s singles camp, where the inability to build confidence proved costly.

In a major championship, Jonassen said players are expected to grow stronger with each outing, but Malaysia were unable to establish that consistency at any stage of the campaign.

“I’m not frustrated over the performance today but I think it’s the performance throughout the week that has let us down,” he said.

Malaysia men’s singles player Lee Zii Jia in action against Koki Watanabe of Japan in their Group B match of the BWF Thomas & Uber Cup Finals 2026 at Forum Horsens April 29. 2026. Zii Jia won 21-13, 21-19. — Bernama pic

In the meantime, the 51-year-old said he would love to have professional men’s singles shuttler Lee Zii Jia perform in the decider but to no avail as Malaysia’s campaign ended early in the third game against China.

World No. 82 and professional men’s singles shuttler Lee Zii Jia emerged as Malaysia’s most consistent men’s singles performer in the tournament, registering three wins from three matches, including an upset victory over world No. 20 Koki Watanabe, 21-13, 21-19, in the final Group B tie on Wednesday.

Malaysia men’s singles player Leong Jun Hao in action against world number one Shi Yu Qi of China during their quarter-final match at the BWF Thomas and Uber Cup Finals 2026 at Forum Horsens May 1, 2026. — Bernama pic

In contrast, national No. 1 Leong Jun Hao endured a difficult campaign, failing to deliver a point in all three matches he featured in, including a defeat to world No. 1 Shi Yu Qi in the opening tie against China, 10-21, 21-16, 9-21.

Second men’s singles Justin Hoh, on the other hand, who played four times here, only managed to win once throughout the tournament against Finnish player Kalle Koljonen, 21-14, 21-12 in their second Group B match.

Pofessional player Aidil Sholeh Ali Sadikin failed to make an impact as he went down to Cholan Kayan, 16-21, 15-21 during the Group B opener against England.

Jonassen also raised alarm that Malaysia’s current approach in men’s singles is falling behind the demands of the modern game.

“I’m not going to go directly into details about the players as such, but I do agree in a quite significant way from singles, the style of play that is simply not up to par or up to date on how the game has moved on,” he said.

He said that progress will require both technical and mental shifts, including greater patience and tactical awareness on court while urging players to take ownership of their growth.

Malaysia began their Group B campaign with a narrow 3-2 win over England, followed by a 4-1 victory against Finland before falling 2-3 to 2014 champions Japan.

The 2026 Thomas Cup, which began on April 24, runs until Sunday (May 3). — Bernama