Will Chong Wei’s departure be the end of Malaysian badminton supremacy at international level?
After raising the Malaysian flag for more than a decade, the badminton king Lee Chong Wei is likely to bid farewell in a couple of years.
Though, he has not announced officially, but the question is not that when will he call it a day rather the question arises what will happen to Malaysian Supremacy after the World Number one Chong Wei’s departure.
The badminton circles of Malaysia tremble even thinking about this as there is huge gap after the maestro while the second top Malaysian shuttler Daren Liew stands at 28th spot in world rankings.
The 29-year old maestro Chong Wei has come to age where abilities start descending and it will be tough trial to catch up the increasing speed of modern game.
There is long trail of Chinese players racing to seize the top positions so in other words with Chong Wei’s departure the Malaysian supremacy may end in badminton.
Let’s have a look on the available options that Malaysia will be depending on to enjoy their time in power.
Above of the list is national number two Daren Liew, who has replaced the big names like Hafiz Hashim and Arif Abdul Latif with his excellent performance in recent past.
The 24-year old Daren proved his worth by qualifying to the quarter-finals of All England and Swiss Open despite the presence of top shuttlers of the world.
The power packed Daren will be the biggest hope of Malaysia to fill the gap of Lee Chong Wei immediately after he hangs up his racket.
The other prime Malaysian shuttler Hafiz Hashim has also played out his best days and it will be a huge task for 29-year old former All England and Commonwealth Games Champion to reclaim his past glory at this age.
The World Number 45 Wei Feng Chong is another strong contender to be the true successor of the badminton great Chong Wei.
The 24-year old Wei Feng has registered his presence by making couple of strong bids at the international level like the India Open 2007, Vietnam International Challenge and the Malaysia Open 2009. However, inconsistency has been his biggest problem and
will be the biggest hurdle in his way to glory.
Mohamad Arif Abdul Latif, currently ranked 51 in world rankings, could be another flag barrier but he lost his spot owing to below par performances and still there are no signs of improvement yet.
The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) is fully aware of the situation and it has started working on a special four-year program under which the young talent of the country will be nurtured.
The officials are looking at reigning Junior World and Asian Champion Zulfadli Zulkifli, the talented youngster Misbun Ramdan Misbun and the spirited shuttler Iskandar Zulkarnain.
They have been fielded in a couple of international events like Axiata Cup, the Finnish Open and the Vietnam International Challenge where these Malaysian lads displayed their class.
The young Zulfadli is catching up at great pace under his father Zulkifli Sidek’s supervision while the Malaysian legend Misbun Sidek, who trained Lee Chong Wei, is watching his son Misbun Ramdan’s step in the race for glory.
Now BAM has invited these independent young shuttlers in the central training camp where they will have the opportunity to train with the prime shuttlers of the country.
It seems BAM will leave no stone unturned to ensure their supremacy in the arena even if the badminton king Chong Wei steps down in future.
The young guns like Zulfadli, Misbun Ramdan and Iskandar will shoulder the responsibility along with Daren Liew and Wei Feng Chong in next couple of years.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
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