Malaysian badminton in bad form
Malaysian badminton players who performed poorly at the world championships in Spain have been told they could be dropped if their performances don’t improve at the Asian Games in Doha later this year.
Mohamad Nadzmi Mohamad Salleh, president of the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM), said that Malaysian badminton’s target at the 15th Asian Games is to win gold and that anything less could result in the sacking of players and coaches.
“We may be making a major decision after the Doha Games. Some of them must go if they cannot perform,” Mohamad Nadzmi told the Malaysia’s Bernama news agency.
“We must be accountable for what we have set out to achieve.
“Players and coaches must be able to take the responsibility. If you cannot perform, why hang around,” he added.
Malaysia’s National Sports Council admonished its badminton squad after they managed only a mixed-doubles bronze medal at the Madrid world championships last week.
There were high hopes for the top-seeded men’s singles player Lee Chong Wei, and also the men’s doubles pairs, but none made it past the quarter-finals.
Lee exited the tournament after some controversial line calls, with Mohamad Nadzmi telling his players not to blame umpires’ decisions for their losses.
“I told them to stop using such excuses. As national players, they must anticipate all this and know how to handle the situation,” said Mohamad Nadzmi.
“You cannot control the umpires. I told them that they must learn how to control their emotion and play on.
“Don’t let one bad call affect the entire match. I think they got the message loud and clear,” he added.
The 15th Asian Games begins on December 1 in Doha, Qatar with badminton to be played at ASPIRE – the largest indoor sports dome in the world.