SINGAPORE,  (Reuters) – Malaysian badminton’s bright  young things are proving to be something of a flop and the  country may need to fall back on some old faces if they are to  challenge for the world men’s team championships.

Malaysia stages the Thomas Cup next May and had hoped that  a quintet of up-and-coming players would spearhead the hosts’  challenge, but chief coach Rashid Sidek says he is now resigned  to the fact that seasoned battlers will feature once again.

None of the five hopefuls — Tan Chun Seang, Chong Wei  Feng, Mohd Arif Abdul Latif, Liew Daren and Chan Kwong Beng —  were showing maturity in their game and were eliminated early  at recent tournaments in Macau and Taiwan.

Based on this form, Rashid said none would provide a strong  challenge for five-times champion Malaysia in the Thomas Cup  Finals.

“This continues to be a big concern for us. These players  may have a new coach but they still have their old thinking.

“I did not see anything extra from them,” he told  Malaysia’s Star newspaper.

Unless there is a rapid turnaround, Malaysia will have no  choice but to bring back 32-year-old Wong Choong Hann and Mohd  Hafiz Hashim to support world number one Lee Chong Wei.

World number 12 Wong defeated China’s Chen Jin and  Indonesian Taufik Hidayat en route to runner-up finishes in  Macau and Taiwan.

The mercurial Hashim, who has suffered patchy form since  last winning a tournament in 2006, also beat several higher  ranked opponents including South Korean number one Park  Sung-hwan.

“Choong Hann is an independent player without a coach but  he played well while Hafiz showed his hunger to play good  badminton again. Hopefully this time, Hafiz’s enthusiasm is for  real,” said Rashid.

“If Choong Hann and Hafiz continue to produce good results,  we have to give them another shot at the Thomas Cup Finals.
“Otherwise, we will have little chance to fight for points  in the singles matches.