KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 26 ― Malaysia is in a critical stage of the Thomas Cup with no formidable team in sight to map a strategy for the campaign in Bangkok next May, said Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) yesterday in a factual admission.

However, BAM president Datuk Seri Norza Zakaria was quick to stress that the association won’t list down the names based on "what the fans want” (popular vote) but instead based on the players’ performances and qualities.

"The Thomas Cup is very important to Malaysia. So the men’s singles head coach Misbun Sidek as well as doubles coach Cheah Soon Kit need to prepare the selection process well, starting at Kedah early next year.

"By end of the year, names like Zulfadli (Zulkifli) and the non-BAM players rise (in popularity) as they always get the fans’ attention,” he noted.

"I have urged Misbun and Soon Kit to take their time to identify players within BAM first. If there are any outside players, then they need to follow our terms and conditions,” he said yesterday.

Norza stressed that BAM will not take players based on ‘popular fan vote’ as Malaysia is at a crucial stage for the Thomas Cup.

"Before this, our contenders were only from the usual countries but now we are also facing a challenge from Taiwan, Hong Kong, India and Thailand,” he said.