NOT A SMASHING YEAR FOR BADMINTON
Dramas within the sport overshadow performances shown this year
FABIAN PETER fabian.mark@nstp.com.my
WILL Malaysia end their 26-year title drought in the Thomas Cup? And will veteran shuttler Lee Chong Wei finally win titles in the Asian Games and World Championships?
These are just some of the questions the BA of Malaysia (BAM) will have to answer before they welcome the new year.
There were controversies and feuds that rocked the badminton fraternity this year, but the BA of Malaysia (BAM) overcame all adversities to soldier on for the betterment of the sport.
The season kicked off with the Malaysia Masters GP Gold in Sibu, where mixed doubles Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing and Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai finished one-and-two in the competition.
Men's doubles Goh Sze FeiNur Izzuddin Rumsani also did well to reach their maiden GP Gold final, but were just not good enough to land the crown.
Everything was heading in the right direction until the BAM office and players moved to the newly-built Academy Badminton Malaysia (ABM) from Juara Stadium in Bukit Kiara in February.
Tragedy struck when former World No 1 Lee Chong Wei slipped on a court mat and got injured. The injury almost ruled him out of the All England, his first tournament of the season.
The 35-year-old shuttler subsequently blamed then technical director Morten Frost for his misfortune as he had informed the Dane about the slippery court mats prior to the incident.
BAM acting president Tan Sri Mohamed Al Amin Abd Majid and his then deputy president Datuk Seri Norza Zakaria along with Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin all got involved in the issue.
Chong Wei, a three-time Olympic silver medallist, also intimidated BAM by saying that he would quit if the national body were to still back the 59-year-old Frost.
However, the situation cooled down when Chong Wei recovered and went on to win his first major event of the season in Birmingham.
The solution to all the drama, however, was for Chong Wei to have his own programme while Frost looked after the other players.
In April, all eyes were on the Malaysia Open Super Series in Kuching. Apart from the action on court, the national body held their annual general meeting (AGM) at the venue to choose new leaders. As expected, Norza became p r e s ident, but Chong Wei failed to win his 12th Malaysia Open crown as he lost to Lin Dan of China in the final.
Rio Olympic Games silver medallists Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong were also having their own internal issues and were sliding down the world rankings. Bear in mind that they were World No 1 at the start of the season.
While things were not looking too good for the seniors, junior shuttlers were making waves. Leong Jun Hao was the most impressive by winning the boys’ singles crown at the Asian Junior Championships in Jakarta in July.
The year also saw the return of former international Misbun Sidek to BAM as the men's singles head coach.
The idea was to have the 57year-old prepare Chong Wei for the World Championships in Glasgow in August.
This plan, however, backfired as Chong Wei suffered a shock first round defeat to Frenchman Brice Leverdez.
It was unclear whether things had turned sour between the two (Chong Wei and Misbun), but right after the world meet, Misbun took up a new role by handling the junior and back up shuttlers.
While there wasn't much joy for Malaysia in Glasgow, the Kuala Lumpur Sea Games in August also failed to create much impact. In fact, they failed to achieve their target of winning at least two gold medals.
Former world junior champion Goh Jin Wei was the solitary gold medal contributor when she defeated compatriot Soniia Cheah in the final of the women's singles at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil.
Malaysia also bagged five silver and two bronze.
While Chong Wei had his own issues, V Shem and Wee Kiong also decided to go their separate ways following BAM’s failure to help settle their personal differences.
And as a result, doubles coach Cheah Soon Kit was forced to split the partnership of Ong Yew Sin and Teo Ee Yi, and pair them up with Wee Kiong and V Shem respectively.
The biggest shock of the year, however, was Frost’s decision to resign not too long after V Shem and Wee Kiong ended their partnership.
In November, Chong Wei ended his title drought since the All England by winning the Hong Kong Open and it earned him a spot in the World Super Series Finals in Dubai.
But questions were raised when none of the men's singles coaches stepped in to join Chong Wei in Dubai when Hendrawan was denied entry due to visa issues.
Instead, newly promoted women's singles coach Tey Seu Bock was instructed to return from his leave to accompany Chong Wei to the gulf country.
Whatever said and done, there can only be one way to move forward.
Frost, prior to his resignation, had drafted a blueprint, and in it a target to win the 2018 Thomas Cup.
BAM should adopt his blueprint and use it as a guide to achieve targets.