Kuala Lumpur Open fails to fulfil the objectives in the absence of top players - Badminton
The domestic event of Kuala Lumpur Open 2011, failed to fulfil the real purpose of talent hunt as the Malaysian shuttlers skipped the home event to pursue their other obligations.
The event was the first leg of the local circuit which was organised to identify new talent from the country. All of the back-up shuttlers participated in this domestic tournament, but their senior team-mates remained busy playing international events in
different countries. As a result, the tournament remained a second category event that could not be regarded as successful.
The Badminton Association of Malaysia organised the local event to provide an opportunity for the young shuttlers to demonstrate their skills and gain some experience by playing against the top athletes of the country. The governing body was unable to find
an elite shuttler to participate, as only second strength players were available for the title in the event. This was quite disappointing for the badminton lovers and for the young players as well.
The World Number one and top seed of Malaysia, Lee Chong Wei, did not participate in the Kuala Lumpur Open, as he was playing in the China Badminton Super League which is currently taking place in China. Apart from Chong Wei, there are also some other top
shuttlers including, World Number 24, Wong Choong Hann, and World Number 33, Muhammad Hafiz Hashim also missed the local event as they were busy in the Australian Open Grand Prix Gold 2011, at Melbourne, Australia.
There are many reasons of the absence of the top players from the Kuala Lumpur Open and the most important is that the time selection for the event was wrong. All of the top shuttlers of Malaysia were busy in different events at the same time when the home
event took place. Another important reason of not having the elite shuttlers in this event is that the prize money of the event was so small that it was unable to grab the attention of any shuttler from the elite squad.
One more reason behind the absence of the elite players is that all top shuttlers except Lee Chong Wei wants ranking points to qualify for the World Badminton Championships 2011 and Olympic Games 2012. The international events offer lucrative prize money
along with ranking points to all players that participate in the event from all over the world. For instance, by playing the final of the Australian Open Grand Prix Gold 2011, the Malaysian shuttler, Wong Choong Hann, has qualified for the World Badminton
Championship 2011, which is going to start in August, at London. These ranking points help the shuttlers in improving their world ranking in all categories of the game.
However, the importance of the local events cannot be denied as these tournaments unearth new talent that raise the flag of the country at the international level. If the top players remain absent from these events then the younger players will not be tested
effectively and their talent cannot be identified.
The absence of the top players from the domestic tournament lowered the interest of the crowd and also destroyed the real objective of the event. BAM is currently taking certain measures in a positive way to attract the elite players to play in these events.
The prize money will be increased and the time of these local events will not clash with any important international event.
Tags: