KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia got their Thomas Cup campaign in Bangkok off to an inspiring start when they thrashed England 5-0 in Group D today.
Asian champion Lee Zii Jia got the ball rolling by outplaying world No 53 Toby Penty 21-10, 21-15 in just 36 minutes at the Impact Arena.
But Malaysia were not going to have it easy in the next two matches.
Tokyo Olympics bronze medallists Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik recovered from a game down to clinch a 19-21, 21-15, 21-16 win over Ben Lane-Sean Vendy, while Tze Yong also had to dig deep to subdue world No 202 Johnie Torjussen 21-16, 19-21, 21-11 for an unassailable 3-0 lead.
"We are not satisfied with our performance today. We put too much pressure on ourselves in the first game... glad that we were able to overcome it and regain our momentum in the next two," said captain Aaron in Bangkok today.
Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani then made it 4-0 by whipping Rory Easton-Zach Russ 21-13, 21-9 before Leong Jun Hao completed the rout with a 21-11, 21-18 win over unheralded Cholan Kayan.
Japan, despite resting their top guns Kento Momota and Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi, too opened their campaign in style by thumping the United States 5-0.
Malaysia will play the US on Tuesday.
RESULTS
Thomas Cup
Group A - South Korea bt Thailand 3-2;
Group B - China bt France 5-0; Denmark bt Algeria 5-0;
Group D - Malaysia bt England 5-0; Japan bt United States 5-0.
Uber Cup
Group A: Japan bt Germany 5-0;
Group B: China bt Australia 5-0;
Group D: India bt Canada 4-1