Rashid Sidek: Malaysian back-up shuttlers need to work much harder - Badminton News
Malaysia’s Men’s Singles coach, Rashid Sidek expressed his disappointment over the back-up shuttlers of Malaysia, who he thinks are not as hard working as the top Mayalsian shuttler and World Number 1, Lee Chong Wei.
The coach said that the standard of the game in Malaysia is declining because the young players are not working that hard, and at a level which is required to compete in the international arena.
While talking about the comparison of the back-up players of different countries with Malaysian youngsters, the coach said that Malaysia, like any other top Badminton playing nation, was going through the same difficulties as other countries, and things
needed to change.
"If you look at all the other countries, they are also suffering like Malaysia in the sense that their current top players such as Lin Dan in China and Taufik Hidayat in Indonesia are superior to the back-up or second ranked players,” Rashid said.
He did admit however, that the back-up shuttlers of Malaysia do not have that level of skill which other players of different countries do. The Malaysian youngsters have been losing to other shuttlers from China and Indonesia on a consistent basis.
Rashid said, "The difference is, the back-up players in those countries are consistently beating our back-up players."
The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) is worried about the declining standard of the game in the country. World Number 1 Malaysian player, Chong Wei is expected to leave competitive badminton after the 2012 London Olympics.
After Chong Wei, there will be a huge vacuum in the Men’s Singles category, as there is no other player in Malaysia who is expected to achieve the same level of perfection as the World Number 1, who is known for his immense hard work and dedication.
"This is something we must address and I hope the players realise that if they want to succeed, they have to work harder than they are doing now,” Rashid added.
Malaysia needs drastic changes in their set-up to avoid this impending danger in the field of Men’s Singles. The coach seems to be in a state of distress, and is quite concerned about the lack of passion and hard work shown by the back-up players of Malaysia.
Tags: