KUALA LUMPUR – A wake-up call … that is how Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) president, Tan Sri Mohamad Norza Zakaria describes Singaporean badminton singles player Loh Kean Yew’s win in the 2021 Badminton World Championships in Huelva Spain.
He however said, the win should be looked at from a positive angle while describing Malaysia as unlucky in the tournament.
Tan Sri Norza said it was unfortunate for Malaysia when it lost the golden opportunity to win the world champion title when national number one Lee Zii Jia’s retired in the men’s singles quarter-finals because of a blister on his right foot.
“It’s like once in many years this opportunity comes, unfortunately, we didn’t take the advantage, it also shows that we are not there yet and also we are still relying on a few players, the task is to expand the chances by having more world-class players.
“Whatever happened with Loh Kean Yew is also a wake-up call to all of us but we take it positively, we are happy that Singapore has won it and the chase (to win world champion title) is up to us, to bring our level of badminton to higher ground as soon as possible,” he told reporters yesterday.
He said the coaching and training (C&T) committee chaired by BAM secretary-general Datuk Kenny Goh has a heavy task after this to identify the weaknesses that need to be rectified quickly for the 2022 season.
“Of course, we have to accept that we are one of the countries that are still chasing the world champion glory, however as I have said the players are all WIP (work in progress) - there are weaknesses that need to be ratified by Datuk Kenny and I believe that he’s coming up with changes very soon,” he added.
Kean Yew is ranked 22 in the world when he won the world title defeating India’s K. Srikanth 21-15, 22-20 in the final at the Palacio de los Deportes Carolina Marin, on Sunday.
It saw Kean Yew become the first Singaporean player to win the title.
Based on the draw, the Penang-born player and Zii Jia had a chance to meet in the semi-finals, but it did not happen after the injured Zii Jia had to pull out when playing against Dane Anders Antonsen in the quarter-finals last Friday.
Meanwhile, Mohamad Norza said on the overall he was satisfied with the achievement of the players throughout 2021.
However, he said the competition this season had highlighted some things that needed to be given serious attention by the C&T, especially from the aspect of relying on the same players as Zii Jia, men’s doubles Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah (women’s doubles) and Hoo Pang Ron-Cheah Yee See (mixed doubles).
“We are too dependent on the same players, which should be reduced by speeding up the lineup of reserve players to compete. For example, I don’t think we have to depend all the time on Zii Jia or Aaron-Soh alone and we can’t be forever dependent on Pearly-Thinaah and Pang Ron-Yee See.“Overall, I am satisfied except we need a more robust and aggressive approach to face 2022 and further empower our preparations for Paris 2024," he said. – Bernama, December 21, 2021
