Smiles for Malaysian badminton and red faces for other sports

 

It’s no hyperbole to say that most sports in Malaysia continue to move with the impetus of a snail on Valium.

Badminton, however, continues to bring the smiles, though not broad beams as the gold medal target at the Paris Olympics was not achieved.

The two bronze medals from badminton shows medal-winning requires the obsession, dedication and skills of the players, coaches and sports organisations.

While the focus by the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) now will be on better future performances, the over-reliance on badminton for Olympic medals must end.

Malaysia’s Olympic report card will never be complete without a deeper look at the lack of enterprising approach by the other sports, and the wrinkles in our campaign.

It says a lot about the country’s sporting spirit when you compare the manner in which our shuttlers shone as opposed to the others who couldn’t get it right.

Still, we must congratulate those who did well and encourage those who did not. I can’t help wondering what these athletes’ bodies and minds have gone through over the years.

The BAM has acknowledged it failed to meet its gold medal, offering no excuses but pledging to keep the nation on the Olympic podium.

In Paris, it was men’s doubles pair Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik who retained the bronze medal they won in Tokyo 2020 while Lee Zii Jia delivered the other in the men’s singles.

Badminton has consistently delivered medals for Malaysia since it became an Olympic sport in 1992 at Barcelona, except in 2000 and 2004, winning five silver and six bronze medals.

Malaysia’s spot at overall joint 80th with three other countries out of 84 countries that won medals is discouraging, not just to Malaysians but also to those who invested in the country’s sports.

For youth and sports minister Hannah Yeoh the Paris Olympic campaign was not a failure, rather commendable.

Yeoh held that three athletes, cyclists Azizulhasni Awang and Nurul Izzah Izzati Mohd Asri, and weightlifter Mohamad Aniq Kasdan set new national records, while another cyclist Shah Firdaus Sahrom and archer Syaqiera Mashayikh recorded personal bests.

That’s just the way it goes. The way you justify funds spent, and the way you show the Road to Gold (RTG) programme is working well.

There should be an honest national conversation on the route the country’s sports needs to take if Malaysia is to have a good all-round performance that will end its over-reliance on badminton.

To be at par with badminton, other national sports associations (NSAs) have their part to play: stubborn mindsets to change, cliches to ditch, and, just as the Olympics would have taught us, talent to develop.

Most NSAs flop mainly because they lack the force to manage and develop their respective sports, and have no hesitation in giving in to political governance.

Underperforming athletics and swimming, helmed by opposition MP Shahidan Kassim, for example, remain in the sporting wayside because of the scattergun strategy and a bonfire of the vanities.

The stakeholders must come together to craft a strategy, including exploring less popular sports towards, LA 2028, and other multi-sports events, but there is a miserable predictability about the outcome, though – nothing will change.

Why is badminton different?

Simple: It’s about taking a top-down approach to athlete wellbeing, and a commitment to doing everything in developing talent, confidence, mental strength, and a champion’s mindset.

Elite badminton players get most of whatever they ask for, so there’s little disgruntlement among them, but lots of spirit, always at war with their own bodies to excel on the biggest stage.

In Paris, Malaysia’s shuttlers stayed undeterred as they smashed their way through the treacherous path to the knockouts, showing aggression, courage and decisiveness.

Defending every shuttle like a whirring dream, and without drowning in the existential fear of the Olympic variety, they converted the non-believers.

Then, there’s outgoing BAM president Norza Zakaria, who isn’t for everyone.

Norza is outspoken, often bold and sometimes controversial, but because he calls things as he sees them, things get done.

It’s his 

I am a doer, not a talker

 quality that sets him apart from other sports administrators, and no matter what anyone says, the so-called controversy involving guest accreditation in his capacity as the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) president is a non-issue.

Badminton has a well-developed infrastructure in the country and does not face any scarcity of good coaches and training academies, besides boasting about more youngsters coming through.

At the recent Badminton Asia Junior Championships in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, Malaysia won one silver and three bronze medals.

That success has been credited to national youth chief coach Jeffer Rosobin’s efforts in nurturing the next generation of shuttlers since joining the BAM in November last year.

It’s left to be seen whether the potential of the juniors will be transformed into Olympic medals.

Behind the scenes before the Olympics

A group of unsung heroes played a crucial role in the shuttlers attaining success at the Paris Olympics.

They are specialists from the National Sports Institute, the physical trainers, as well as people like psychologist Frederick Tan.

Despite receiving a late appointment as the psychologist, Frederick worked diligently for a few months, and together with the other backroom boys huddled in midnight discussions to analyse players’ data and to carefully set things right.

Aaron and Soh, the former world men’s doubles champions, have credited Frederick and their coaches with teaching them to control their emotions on court.

Both the players came to the quarter-finals keeping their cool, and repeated that in the bronze medal playoff, something we don’t often see in them.

Their Indian opponents, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty needed calmer nerves but couldn’t get themselves out of Aaron’s pacy returns, Soh’s taps, and their whirl of flat-fast game in the three set defeat. How cool was that?

You wonder how women’s doubles pair, Pearly Tan and M Thinaah, struggling with injuries, performance, and even confidence, made it to the semi-finals and the bronze medal match, pushing so hard, persevering and fighting until the last point.

It didn’t happen overnight but over months of rigorous training and development of a winning mentality.

While in Paris they also held a peak performance camp that involved improving mental and physical strength, and game simulation.

Listen up NSAs

We have work to do before Los Angeles, the upcoming Asian Games and SEA Games. Those who have no inkling about professionalism and how sports today should be run, must run away quickly.

Without the same ambition, the same responsibility and the same pressure, there is always a question mark for every inept sports official.

All integrity is lost when sport becomes a cynical game of excuses. - FMT

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.