The Star Online: Sports
The Star Online: Sports |
- BAM must stop rewarding mediocrity or be doomed
- Gritty Indonesia give mighty China a huge scare
- Yong-dae believes luckless run in world meet will end in Guangzhou
| BAM must stop rewarding mediocrity or be doomed Posted: 23 May 2013 06:13 PM PDT MERITOCRACY is a dying word in Malaysian sports. And it will be dead and buried as long as mediocrity is tolerated. For how else can one describe the situation with Malaysia's top men's doubles pair of Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong. Is there hope for the duo – or Malaysian badminton, in general. Based on their performances in the Sudirman Cup, Kien Keat-Boong Heong are definitely living on borrowed time. Their uninspiring performance against Taiwan's unheralded pair of Lee Sheng-mu-Tsai Chia-hsin clearly sums up their slow and steady fall from grace. Technically, the duo still have three months to salvage whatever pride there is left and restore the fans' faith and interest in them. To do that, the pair will need to work their socks off in the next 90 days and finish their career on a high at the World Championships in August in Guangzhou. Three months is all it takes. Three months of sacrifices. Three months of self-disciplined lifestyle. Three months of blood, sweat and tears. Three months of sheer obedience to their coaches. There's no guarantee they will succeed. But if they can regain the kind of form that struck fear in the hearts of their opponents, at least they can regain their pride and earn the respect of everyone. But to be honest, whatever happens – whether they finish on a high or on a low – the reality is that one cannot see Kien Keat-Boon Heong going beyond the World Championships. If they produce decent performances in Guangzhou, the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) can start thinking of finding new partners for them. If they fall flat again, it should mark the end of their seven-year roller-coaster ride. So, what has really happened to this pair, who once ruled the world with their breathtaking exploits and performances, since winning the 2006 Asian Games gold medal in Doha? Everyone knows that the former All-England champions had some misunderstandings in the past. But, two days ago, former international Razif Sidek revealed a darker side to their decline. Indiscipline and unhealthy lifestyle – like late nights and gambling – were among the factors associated to their decline. But what irked Razif the most was that BAM were aware of the situation but did not crack the whip until it was too late. Coaches' reports of their indiscipline behaviour were brought up at BAM meetings but their so-called "godfathers" were always there to protect them, thus resulting in them being let off the hook time and again. So, is there a future for Malaysian badminton? Yes, but only if BAM are serious in stamping out the bad habits – double standards and favouritism. BAM must opt to change and the change should start right from the top. There should only be one set of rule for all the players – irrespective of whether they are juniors or seniors. Break it, and you pay the price. The coaches should also be fair and bold enough to make a stand and speak up. BAM need to take a long and hard look at themselves too, for having had a hand in creating this malady. Remember the incident where a Datuk's son made it to the Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) although he did not qualify on merit? That is as clear a case as you will ever get about mediocrity being rewarded instead of meritocracy. BAM will have a new president when they hold their annual general meeting (AGM) in July as president Datuk Seri Nadzmi Mohd Salleh is not standing for re-election. For the sake of badminton, whoever succeeds him, please do the right thing. Otherwise, badminton too will suffer a slow and steady death once Lee Chong Wei hangs up his racquet. |
| Gritty Indonesia give mighty China a huge scare Posted: 23 May 2013 06:19 PM PDT A BRILLIANT strategy, a great sense of patriotism and a gamble on a young men's doubles pair almost paid off for Indonesia as they went down fighting 3-2 to mighty China in the quarter-finals of the Sudirman Cup at the Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil. Indonesia, who have undergone a massive restructuring in their national team set-up, can surely walk tall despite the loss. Even China chief coach Li Yongbo was full of praise for Indonesia, describing the tie as the "final". Indonesia hit where it hurts most for China when they stole two points through Ahmad Tantowi-Lilyana Natsir in the mixed doubles and Rian Agung Saputra-Angga Pratama in the men's doubles. Tantowi-Lilyana gave an outstanding performance to upstage world No. 1 Xu Chen-Ma Jin 21-18, 14-21, 16-21 in 65 minutes for only their second win over the Chinese in eight meetings. Reigning All-England champion Chen Long levelled the tie with an impressive 21-11, 21-15 win over Tommy Sugiarto before Rian-Angga made heads turn. Spurred by a group of Indonesian supporters, world No. 10 Rian-Angga, who do not even have a Super Series title to their names, stunned four-time world champion and Olympic champions Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng 19-21, 21-18, 21-15 in an enthralling 62-minute match. China, however, can thank their women power for pulling through, thanks to world No. 1s Li Xuerui and Yu Yang-Wang Xiaoli in the singles and doubles respectively. All-Indonesia Badminton Association (PBSI) secretary Anton Suwobo said: "The mixed doubles is our strongest and in order for it to be the first event of the tie, we had to field Lilyana in the women's doubles too. I think the opening win motivated the team to fight all the way. It was purely tactical." Indonesia's high performance director Rexy Mainaky said that they had nothing to lose by fielding Rian-Angga and wanted the youngsters to prove themselves. "Rian and Angga have not been doing well but the team gave them lots of motivation. We decided to give them an opportunity to play today and they did not disappoint us. This will surely give them the much-needed confidence boost," said Rexy. Yongbo said he did not expect seniors Cai Yun-Haifeng to lose but commended Indonesia for their brave line-up. "It was a very exciting game and I must congratulate Indonesia ... their youngsters played above expectations. It has been long since a team gave us a good fight like this in the Sudirman Cup," he said. "It's unfortunate that they had to meet us in the quarter-finals ... if not, they could have gone into the final. "Indonesia took two points from us and based on their performance, I see a good future for them. "I feel that Cai Yun-Haifeng should not have lost. They not only had to face a young and aggressive pair but the umpire was also against them ... I'm unhappy with a few controversial calls." China will take on Denmark tomorrow and Yongbo expects his team to return even stronger after a day's rest. Related Stories: |
| Yong-dae believes luckless run in world meet will end in Guangzhou Posted: 23 May 2013 06:20 PM PDT SOUTH KOREAN Lee Yong-dae's luckless run in the World Championships may come to an end in Guangzhou in August. This is because the 24-year-old is pleased as punch with the progress he and his new partner Ko Sung-hyun have shown after a roller-coaster ride over the last seven months. Yesterday, the duo were almost perfect when they combined superbly to beat Ingo Kindervater-Johannes Schoettler 21-13, 21-10 to clinch the winning point for South Korea in the quarter-final against Germany in the Sudirman Cup. With Sung-hyun-Kim Ha-na and Lee Dong-keun contributing the other two points, South Korea whitewashed Germany 3-0 to set up a meeting with Thailand in the semi-finals. Thailand created history by beating Japan 4-1 to reach their first ever semi-final. Yong-dae, who is still chasing an elusive gold medal in the World Championships after coming so close with his former partner Chung Jae-sung in three editions, said that his new partnership was getting more stable. With Jae-sung, he finished runners-up twice in the 2007 and 2009 editions in Kuala Lumpur and Hyderabad respectively. They came in third at the world meet in London two years ago. He teamed up with Sung-hyun after winning a bronze medal with Jae-sung at the London Olympic Games. "We've gone through a series of ups and downs over the last seven months. We did so well in the beginning but then suffered a dip in form," said Yong-dae. They won five titles last year but have managed only one – the recent Asian Badminton Championships in Taiwan – this year. "But we've not been idle. We analysed why and how our opponents were able to beat us and worked on our weak points. We are much better and our partnership now looks ideal and positive," said Yong-dae. World No. 3 Yong-dae-Sung-hung are hoping to play their part to take South Korea into the final. "It feels good to win the winning point for my team (against Germany today) ... now we hope to play with equal determination against our next opponents," said Yong-dae. Sung-hyun, who contributed two points – in the men's and mixed doubles – was delighted to have accomplished his double duty with perfection. "I'm happy with my partnership with Yong-dae. He is special and I just look forward to playing with him in as many tournaments as I can. We have much more to accomplish," he said. Related Stories: |
| You are subscribed to email updates from The Star Online: Sports To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 ulasan:
Catat Ulasan