WITH the conclusion of the Malaysia Masters 2024 badminton championships, the Badminton Association of Malaysia through their coaches have several things to sort out before the Paris Olympics regardless of whether one belongs to the BAM stable or is a professional player.
The results of the Malaysia Masters 2024 have shown the fighting spirit of Goh Soon Huat and Shevon Jemie Lai in the mixed doubles, which gave the crowds plenty of excitement and thrills in the final.
They gained much respect among the other mixed doubles pairs on the day.
Singles shuttler Lee Zii Jia gave his all but, as he has acknowledged, Victor Axelsen was too good for him.
Zii Jia has the potential for a medal in the Paris Olympics if he continues to improve and be consistent in the next couple of tournaments and avoid injuries.
Needless to say, the men’s and the women’s doubles have much to brush up on to challenge the best in their respective categories while the women’s singles players have not created any ripple so far in the national, regional and international scene.
Unless there is an indication our players can rise to the occasion and start winning consistently, to eye for gold at the Paris Olympics, regardless of category, may not be possible.
At this point, a bronze medal at the Olympics is a reasonable expectation and should be their primary focus, but silver or gold is a distant dream based not only on the results of the Malaysia Masters, where some of the best players were absent but also on recent tournaments, which have shown they have not reached the level and consistency required to be among the world’s best.
There is a lot that coaches and BAM can accomplish, including the sponsors, for the professional players too.
With massive support provided, one would expect players to rise to the occasion, create their destiny and history, and bring joy and happiness to the nation.
We have no doubt our players can do so much better as shown in some of the matches they have played but very often they were shaken and unable to dictate or respond, either “defensively or offensively”. The rest as they say is history.
More often than not at the last mile, they seem to fail and falter. In short, they experienced cold feet and stumbled.
We cannot discount the mental state of the players since what goes on in their minds can either move them to win or to lose.
We were informed that a motivator had recently been hired to motivate the players.
Hopefully, his motivational talks will inspire players to change their mindset and strive to make history while maintaining a winning mentality.
It is about a mindset that is motivated and shaped by self-belief, strong will and determination, a winning attitude and the belief that failure is not an option. A positive and right attitude matters.
Despite Rexy Mainaky saying that “all is not lost as the players are aware of their shortcomings and have enough time to bounce back for the Olympics”, as the coaching director he is disappointed with the outcomes at the Malaysia Masters.
There is no time to waste, Rexy must tie up loose ends and critically examine each of the players’ weaknesses and strengths, convincing them that they can achieve their aspirations and dreams of becoming “gold-medal-material” if they set their hearts and minds to “move mountains” at the Paris Olympics.
There is no easy path to success except through serious hard work and dedication all the way.
In short, there is a lot of “homework” to do as Rexy has rightly said in the aftermath of the Malaysia Masters but it has to start as soon as possible while they continue to participate in tournaments before the Paris Olympics.
The nation is cheering our players and hopes they can bring smiles and joy to the nation at the Paris Olympics.
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