Simply solid: Aaron Chia (right) and Soh Wooi Yik fought brilliantly to deliver a bronze. — Reuters
CHANGE, they say, is the only constant. The thing is, it can also be a constant pain in the you-know-what, especially in sports.
Athletes need long-term plans and programmes which they can stick to as they make their way up the ranks from the youth events to the pinnacle.
Three-time Olympic Games silver medallist Datuk Lee Chong Wei knows that only too well.
Chong Wei remains the most successful shuttler in the Olympics since badminton was introduced at the 1992 Barcelona Games having finished second at the 2008 Beijing, 2012 London and 2016 Rio de Janeiro editions.
The 41-year-old is now hoping the younger shuttlers will do better than him and deliver the gold but says Malaysia should not make too many drastic changes if they hope to see golden glitter at the next Games.
“If there is a need to make any changes, do it now. The Paris Olympics is over for badminton. So, they can drop or hire coaches. They can review players performances,” said Chong Wei.
“But after that, stop tinkering,” he said.
Badminton Association of Malaysia’s (BAM) top men’s pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik fought brilliantly to deliver a bronze medal while professional Lee Zii Jia overcame many hurdles to nick a bronze in the men’s singles.
“We have made the mistake of changing the structure too many times. In fact, just a year before the Paris Games, we changed the coaching line-up and some players were moved around
“China and Japan hardly do that. They have a solid system and are consistent in their decision-making process.
“Our association must decide now on the doubles partnership for the future. They must earmark potential singles players and work with them closely.
“They can make up their mind on their coaches soon and stick with them until LA. If it’s Rexy Mainaky, then keep him until LA28.
“And we must start all this early, don’t wait until it’s too late.”
BAM have often been fickle. They have had one head coach, and then switched to two chief coaches. At one point, they even had five head coaches. Seniors and back-up players trained separately, and then they trained together.
While happy with the fighting display of BAM’s Aaron-Wooi Yik, Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah (lost in the bronze-medal playoff), Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei (quarter-finals) and pro Zii Jia, Chong Wei said the focus should be on building the next echelon of players.
“We need quality doubles pairs snapping at the heels of Aaron-Wooi Yik. We need new faces in the singles to rise up too,” said Chong Wei.
“BAM have Ng Tze Yong, Justin Hoh, and Leong Jun Hao now, and with the right focus, we should have two representatives at least at the next Olympics,” he added.
Malaysian badminton will know if they are on the right track for LA28 if they start producing results at the SEA Games, Asian Games and World Championships.
More importantly, they have to start beating Chinese, Japanese, Korean players regularly in Open tournaments.
