Malaysia’s rule in Men’s Singles will end as there is no commendable successor to Lee Chong Wei
Malaysia’s rule in Men’s Singles of badminton will soon be over as there is no commendable successor to Lee Chong Wei in the National squad of back-up shuttlers.
The retirement of Chong Wei, after the 2012 London Olympics will create a huge vacuum in the Men’s Singles category as there is no other shuttler in the national squad who is ranked in the top 20 spots of the world rankings.
The poor performance of the back-up shuttlers in the 2011 Malaysia Open Grand Prix Gold has become alarming for the officials of the Badminton Association of Malaysia. Rashid Sidek, the National coach of Men’s Singles is disappointed with the miserable performance
of the second stringers including Chong Wei Feng, Liew Daren, Tan Chun Seang and Chan Kwong Beng.
Rashid said, “I have not seen any players as dedicated and as committed as Chong Wei.”
He also appreciated the unending hard work and dedication of the ruling World Number one, Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia by saying that the shuttler took fame and success as a tool to move forward.
“He may be a superstar now but he has not forgotten the basics – to work hard, to take care of his food intake and sleeping habits. He is respectful and has not let success get to his head,” said Rashid.
The huge gap between Chong Wei and the rest of the Malaysian shuttlers, in the category of Men’s Singles is quite disappointing as the second strength is not taking inspiration from the mighty Chong Wei.
“And my heart aches for the current group of players we have. They are not following in the footsteps of Chong Wei,” added the coach.
Malaysia, a country that has strong badminton culture, also has huge talent and enthusiasm for the game. But the proper progress of players from grass roots level is the need of the hour. School badminton should be promoted and domestic events should be
organised with regular intervals. Rewarding incentives should be offered to the good performers in the domestic events.
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