KUALA LUMPUR – Former world number one Roslin Hashim urged local badminton fans to be more objective rather than blindly support their favourite players.
He told The Vibes he did not mean to discredit their support, but he cautioned fans that certain losses should not be encouraged.
“Thanks to social media, the fans feel more connected to their favourite players. It is good to see them spreading words of encouragement to the players,” said the two-time SEA Games gold medallist.
But I hear this a lot, ‘come back stronger’ every time the players lose. That is good, but it cannot all be the same for every loss.
“Winning or losing is customary in sports. As such, you also have to deal with their losses sensibly. Look at how they played that caused them to lose. Was it good form or not?
“They are high-performance, elite athletes that have been training hard, day in and day out. So when their results do not reflect their effort, then what have they been training for?
“They have to prove that they put up a good fight on the court, instead of making petty errors that are simply unacceptable and could have been avoided,” he added.
Roslin, a badminton icon in the late 90s and early 2000s, commended women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah and independent men’s doubles Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi for their gameplay despite several past losses.
“Even though they lost a certain match, you can clearly see they put up a good fight and they looked spirited to play. Don’t you feel satisfied to see them play like that?
I am not saying that the fans are in denial when the players lose a match. Every player wants to win, but the question here is… did the player truly give 100% on the court? That is what we want.”
Roslin also used the example of men’s singles shuttler Lee Zii Jia, who recently dropped two spots from number two in the world.
He opined there is no need to compare the 24-year-old independent shuttler to badminton legend Datuk Lee Chong Wei.
“We do not need to compare Zii Jia to Chong Wei because they are different individuals. Since the beginning, Zii Jia has said that he does not like to be compared with him.
“Although Zii Jia is the most successful men’s singles player right now, it would not be fair to compare him to Chong Wei because Chong Wei was an extraordinary player who has set a benchmark that would be difficult for anyone to match,” he added.
Seeing how Zii Jia has been struggling to advance past the opening rounds in his last three tournaments, Roslin said he hoped the top Malaysian men’s singles shuttler would soon find a way out of his slump.
Roslin was among Malaysia’s most successful men’s singles shuttlers who had sat at the top of the world rankings, including Chong Wei, Datuk Rashid Sidek, and Wong Choong Hann. – The Vibes, January 30, 2023
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