When the Badminton Association of Malaysia set the quarterfinals target for them, some fans did not believe the squad could go that far.

However, the ‘underdogs’ delivered an exceptional performance to shut the critics up. One thing the fans may have noticed throughout the mixed team championship, led by men’s singles ace Lee Zii Jia, was how the squad oozed great team spirit to reach the last four.

Former world champion Lee Chong Wei urged the young squad to keep the fighting spirit shown in Finland alive and carry it into the Thomas and Uber Cup finals in Aarhus, Denmark, from Oct 9-17.

The three-time Olympic silver medallist pointed out that the fine run that they achieved will definitely motivate them to get cracking in the Denmark outing starting this Saturday.

“I believe they will get better and stronger, all they must do is keep the ‘never say die’ spirit at the Thomas and Uber Cup finals,” he said.

The 38-year-old, who led the team into the Sudirman Cup semifinals in Guangzhou, China 12 years ago – the only other time Malaysia has managed the feat – was satisfied with how team captain Zii Jia steered his teammates to repeat the 2009 success.

In the meantime, the Penangite said he wished to see the achievement in Finland inspire young children.

Malaysia went against all odds, beating archrivals Indonesia in an epic 3-2 win last Friday, before losing 3-1 to Japan in the semifinals on Saturday.