Thomas Cup History In Malaysia
With five titles, Malaysia is the third most successful side at the Thomas Cup and was the first dynasty in the premier men’s team badminton competition. Playing as Malaya, they won the first three editions (1949, 1952, 1955) of the tournament. Led by the fearsome trio of Ong Poh Lim, Ooi Teik Hock, and Wong Peng Soon, they defeated Denmark twice with an 8-1 scoreline, sandwiching their 7-2 demolition of the United States.
Their streak ended in 1958 in Singapore when Indonesia stunned Malaya with a 6-3 result, kickstarting the Indons’ own three-peat and the two countries’ rivalry in badminton.
In 1967, the now-named Malaysia retrieved the Cup by beating the hosts in Jakarta, 6-3. What followed was a 25-year drought that saw them lose in the final on four occasions during that period.
That all changed in 1992 where the Malaysians won their most recent Thomas Cup in Kuala Lumpur, clinching it in the fourth match against Indonesia where the doubles tandem of Cheah Soon Kit and Soo Beng Kiang beat Ricky Subagja and Rexy Mainaky in a marathon tie.
Malaysia managed to have four runner-up finishes since then.