KUALA LUMPUR – More attention should be directed towards developing female badminton talents, said former Olympic silver medallist Goh Liu Ying.
The mixed doubles specialist said Malaysia lacks quality female shuttlers because many of them could not commit to competing in tournaments for the long term due to their proneness to injuries.
“We hardly find quality badminton players in Malaysia among women because they are more prone to injuries than men.
“When they get injured, in many situations they would not be able to continue playing for long,” said the 33-year-old Melaka-born athlete.
Liu Ying also had her fair share of serious injuries throughout her career, which forced her to undergo three surgeries for her knee and shoulder.
Arguably the most successful Malaysian female shuttler of her time, Liu Ying hoped more is done to help budding female badminton players deal with this issue, which commonly affects women more than men.
“I hope after this more women could do better than me.
“Other than talent development programmes for women, I also hope the national team could help them in dealing with injury prevention,” she added.
For the record, Liu Ying is the only women’s badminton player to win an Olympic medal for Malaysia.
She partnered with Chan Peng Soon when they won a silver medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics, making them the first and only Malaysia’s mixed doubles duo to do so.
Speaking about her future plan, Liu Ying said she wants to organise several badminton tournaments for amateurs.
Her first event, a three-on-three tournament, will be held in February, followed by another special event to be co-organised with Astro in April.
“After my retirement, I wish to help promote and grow the sport because Malaysians love badminton so much.
“I want to organise competitions for amateurs because there are already so many competitions out there for professional players.”
Liu Ying made her final appearance as a badminton player at the Super 1000 Malaysia Open this week.
She and Peng Soon were knocked out of the first round on Wednesday after losing to Indonesia’s Rehan Naufal Kusharjanto-Lisa Ayu Kusumawati. – The Vibes, January 14, 2023.
