KUALA LUMPUR – Badminton legend Datuk Razif Sidek is worried that there are no senior players left in the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) to mentor current players.
Commenting on the performance of Malaysian players during last week’s Malaysia Masters – particularly men’s doubles – Razif opined that current players have no one more experienced than them to spar with.
He added that the players are only relying on their fellow teammates.
“One of the things I noticed in our players today is that they do not have senior players to spar with. They have all left BAM to become independent players.
“If there are still some senior players left in BAM, I do believe that their tactics and techniques would be much better,” he told reporters when met recently at the Malaysia Masters held at Axiata Arena, Bukit Jalil.
Malaysia were left without home representation in the finals of the Super 500 event after men’s doubles Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik were defeated by Indonesians Fajar Alfian-Muhammad Rian Ardianto, while women’s doubles Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah lost to China’s Chen Qing Chen-Jia Yi Fan.
At the Super 750 Malaysia Open – held the week before – they also made it as far as the semi-finals through Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik and Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani.
Razif, a former All England doubles winner with brother Jalani, noted that Aaron-Wooi Yik and Sze Fei-Izzuddin, have much more to improve albeit being in a better standing than before.
“I’m sure they can go further if they could work on areas they are lacking.
“I noticed that they have been frequently defeated by players of high rank, although not that far apart.
“Probably in terms of strategy, tactical as well as mental agility they are still lacking,” he said.
Razif recalled his contesting days and remembered how fortunate he was to have his seniors around to guide him, such as his brother Misbun Sidek.
When he became a senior, he continued to guide younger players like Choong Tan Fook and Lee Wan Wah.
“I do believe that one day they (Aaron-Wooi Yik) could succeed even more, but they require some time to improve further,” said Razif, adding that he has faith in doubles coaching director Rexy Mainaky to come up with a strategy to help the players improve. – The Vibes, July 11, 2022
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