KUALA LUMPUR: BA of Malaysia (BAM), where do we go from here?
Many are asking the same question after the excuses from BAM, its coaches, and players following Malaysia's failure to satisfy the nation's hunger to end the Thomas Cup drought.
As a badminton nation, arguably Malaysia's No. 1 sport, having overtaken football following growing frustration over recent controversies, a 34-year wait for the Thomas Cup title is far too long.
What makes it harder to swallow is that even France, better known for football icons like Zinedine Zidane and Kylian Mbappe, are now ahead of Malaysia in badminton.
This is embarrassing.
A decade ago, French shuttlers were unheard of.
Today, they boast the Popov brothers, Toma Junior Popov and Christo Popov, along with Alex Lanier, all making strides on the world stage.
These players are becoming the Zidanes and Mbappes of badminton, and they proved their pedigree by finishing runners-up to China in the recent Thomas Cup in Horsens.
In badminton terms, the Thomas Cup is as prestigious as football's FIFA World Cup, a title Les Bleus have won twice.
French badminton only began serious development in 2015, with momentum accelerating after Paris was confirmed as host of the 2024 Olympic Games.
That is how a sport maximises funding, ensuring investment is used effectively across every stage of development.
As for Malaysia, we continue to struggle to produce quality men's singles players.
Going into the Thomas Cup, there was a genuine concern that Malaysia would effectively start 2-0 down, with Leong Jun Hao and Justin Hoh not yet at the level required to challenge the world's elite.
Only independent shuttler Lee Zii Jia appeared to benefit from sparring sessions with the national players and the training camp in Herning, as he won all three of his matches in Horsens.
Struggling to beat England 3-2 and dropping a match in a 4-1 win over Finland are hardly encouraging signs, given that neither nation is known for badminton.
Our doubles pairs have been consistent in recent years, but even world No. 2 Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik were easily subdued against China in the quarter-finals.
The plan was clear, take two points from the doubles to level the tie and set up Zii Jia to clinch the winning point against the eventual champions in the third singles. It never materialised. Malaysia were swept aside 3-0 by China.
BAM has invested in top coaching, with Kenneth Jonassen leading the singles department, yet the men's singles players still look clueless on court.
To be fair, the blame should not rest solely on Jonassen.
The women's singles department, featuring players like K. Letshanaa and Wong Ling Ching, are showing encouraging progress.
Perhaps there are too many coaching "generals" in the men's singles setup.
The coaching line-up includes Tey Seu Bock, a respected figure who once guided former world No. 1 Datuk Seri Lee Chong Wei, alongside K. Yogendran and Alvin Chew.
The key question is whether this mix truly works.
Are they complementing each other or complicating the players' development?
Results suggest the latter, with players falling further behind in both performance and consistency.
And in a familiar script whenever results fall short, BAM comes up with excuses.
Now, the association wants the players to shift focus to World Tour tournaments, the World Championships and the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya in September, urging them to bounce back.
Talk is easy but coming up with an effective plan is far harder.
However, Malaysian badminton remains among the world's best and continues to deliver results.
The hope is that BAM, its coaches, and players will once again find a way to silence critics and deliver on the big stage as they have done before.
Critics are not bad people, they just want to see the national shuttlers progress.
The truth is in elite sports, nothing matters, except for results.
That is what fans, sponsors, and taxpayers want to see. As for athletes, nobody knows how hard they train to prepare for tournaments.
The Thomas Cup was a wasted opportunity as Malaysian fans needed something to cheer about after Azizulhasni Awang's stunning rise at the Nilai World Cup recently. - NST
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