BANGKOK: If Malaysia wants to beat favourites Denmark in the Thomas Cup and top Group D, they must have confidence.
And according to team captain Lee Chong Wei, the 5-0 win over Russia in the opening group tie on Monday gave the team just that.
Malaysia, fielded their strongest lineup, and didn't drop a game, beginning with Chong Wei, who saw off world No 51 Vladimir Malkov 21-9, 21-6 in the first game.
Rio Olympic Games silver medallists Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong then showed great fighting spirit when they clawed back from 11-16 down in the second game to wrap up the match in style 21-18, 21-19 against former All England champions Vladimir Ivanov-Ivan Sozonov, giving Malaysia a 2-0 lead.
Debutant Lee Zii Jia confirmed the victory for Malaysia when he saw off Sergey Sirant 21-13, 21-16 in the second singles match.
"It was a very important win for us. We fielded our strongest players against Russia because we needed to get that tournament feeling
"Winning 5-0 is crucial as it gives us confidence, and we need a lot of that if we want to top Group D," said Chong Wei, adding that players also needed to adapt with the challenging hall conditions.
Scratch pair Aaron Chia-Teo Ee Yi also did well in their first match together as a duo, recording a 21-16, 21-9 win over Evgenij Dremin-Denis Grachev, before third singles Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin secured the 5-0 win when he thrashed Rodion Alimov 21-9, 21-12.
"We pretty much have one foot in the quarter-finals already, but we want to top the group. We still have Algeria and Denmark to play.
"After that, there will be a redraw for the quarter-finals, so let's see what happens after this. Main thing is for us all to remain focused," added Chong Wei, who may be rested in the tie against Algeria on Tuesday.