M'sian Shuttlers Need Immediate 'Surgery' To Remove Mental Bloc From Jaiarajo Letchumanan MADRID, Sept 24 (Bernama) --By the time the finals of the World Badminton Championships got underway at the Palacio De Deportes today, it was a sorry sight to see all the Malaysian shuttlers packing to catch their flight home after being bundled out in all of the five competitions contested here. Winning and losing are part and parcel of the game, so they say, but the way some of our Malaysian players went down calls for an immediate review, or most appropriately, these players need to undergo immediate "surgery" to insert a "device" that can boost their mental strength. Malaysian shuttlers are a much travelled lot, taking part in competitions all over the world but the most telling results at major tournaments continue to elude them. It was no better in Madrid as there was no Malaysian representation in any of the five finals -- men's singles, men's doubles, women's singles, women's doubles, mixed doubles -- contested here. Maybe it is about time the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) came out with a KPI (Key Performance Index) system to assess the performance of shuttlers to ensure that only the deserving ones go for tournaments overseas. The grit and determination were somehow missing in a number of players and this lack in their qualities was very visible during matches through their body language on court, especially when they were down. This was in direct contrast to the Chinese players who seemed to possess a never-say-die attitude, fighting their way right to the end. For one, Hafiz Hashim, the 2003 All-England champion, was clearly lacking the drive in his match against Lin Dan of China and went down tamely 10-21, 9-21 in their quarter-final encounter. The men's doubles pair of Choong Tan Fook/Lee Wan Wah, ranked third in the world, fared no better as they lost in the third round and against a pair ranked much lower. Our women players, as usual, failed to lift their game another notch when coming against better opposition, namely the Chinese players. Even head coach Yap Kim Hock lamented the lack of fighting spirit among some of the players and called for a concerted effort from coaches and players themselves. "Some of the players did not deliver, especially the doubles pair of Tan Fook/Wan Wah, and Hafiz. We know that there were some shortcomings, like the demise of Chan Chong Ming's father and bad calls from service judges, but players must learn to overcome such situations," said Kim Hock. The fact that even World Number One and top seed here Lee Chong Wei had failed to reach the semi-finals is cause for concern, especially when losing to an opponent who had never beaten him in seven previous meetings. Kim Hock also admitted that there seemed to be a lack of mental strength in players and it will be one area they need to work on before the Asian Games in Doha come December. "Our main concern now is the Asian Games in Doha, and we will focus our attention towards that goal," said Kim Hock. However, though there will be no competition from the European players in Doha, the threat remains all the same as powerhouse China will again come in full force. The shuttle is now in BAM's court to find a good "neuro-surgeon" to remedy the situation.
I will volunteer my neuro surgurical skills. I will chop away at the prefrontal cortex and the hypothalamus. I will chop and chop until the players no longer have a mental block. However, I cannot guaranty that they have anything left.
Malaysian players need to re-examine themselves in the light of this big loss @ the WC 2006 where no Malaysian made the Finals. There are many questions to be asked such as : 1. Did the players take it too lightly ? 2. Were the players tuned properly for this event ? 3. Were they prepared well by their coaches ? 4. Why did LCW lose to BAO ? 5. How did CTF/LWW play so badly ? 6. Did the 10 day training in Madrid have anything to do with loss ?
I remember.. ..hehe, actually i was thinking and going to mention the same thing, but you sort of stole my thunder..anyways, i doubt that's one of the reason but here's the link in reference to that : http://www.badmintoncentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=35899[/quote]..
I looked at other thread about LCW lost to BCL and there were many quotes from the press on LCW comment after the match, which mainly surronding the LYB and bad line call incidents, there is however one interesting quote that they did not mention. LCW was quoted saying he felt that being the current rank no 1 in the World, and carrying the hope of being the first Malaysian to win the WC, perhaps that became too much to him mentally in the match. I;m not sure what BAM think about that. I have written earlier in this forum before the WC that perhaps LCW has entered in too many Opens this year. This may have exhasuted him both mentally and physically. There are members saying they have never seen LCW acted so angirly about the bad line calls, perhaps that was an evident of mental exhausion? I donot envy LCW's position, having to shoulder the whole nation's pride in every major tounament. He does not have enough high calibre team-mates to share his burden. It takes a super strong mind to cope with such pressure. On the other hand, Malaysia WS and XD have performed better than expectation because the expectation is relative low and thus the pressure is not there. So perhaps the surgery should be on the administration, not on the players?
you are absolutely spot on.......malaysian fans are one of the hardest to please in the world....when a player keeps winning, they will get the fan's support but when they start losing the fans will turn their back and to a certain extent even start scolding the players(this has happened many times) ..... players are already pressured to perfom by certain parties and they do not need the extra pressure.....i for one know that malaysian players are honest players(meaning they always give their best even when they are injured) ..... nowadays the supporters are like 'lalang' .....follow the direction of the wind...only support teams or players that win...no loyalty......if you look at football you could see that happening....in the old days its all abt tradition and loyalty....you would support your team or player for life win or lose ...... sports is not only about winning....remember the spirit of the olympics......
Actually Malaysia's strength is not balanced. In MS only LCW is strong enough to go all the way. And I do agree that he was entered in too many tournaments this year. And the way LCW lost, I wouldn't blame him, it was touch and go all the way. BCL never beat him before, does it mean BCL should never beat LCW? In MD, our best bet had to opt out. Choong/Lee can either be inspired or disastrous. In this WC, they were disastrous. Might as well replace them with many other younger pairs staying home. Lin/Tazari didn't have enough experience to ride through bad line calls and tense situations. And they've been on tour for a good 3 years. This reminds me of the Sidek brothers, 1982 All-England winners aged 19, 20 and semifinalists in the previous 2 years. Even when the S-serve was banned, and with defense their only strength, they were able to maintain a high standard until the end when they helped Malaysia win the Thomas Cup in '92. For the women, we have only one effective WS (with 2 more potentials) and one effective WD. Plus WPT is doing double duty as makeshift XD with KKK. Since China mass-produces quality women players like Toyota produces cars, the fact that WPT/CEH managed 3 games against the WC runnerups is noteworthy. China has understood earlier on that they needed to produce many potentials to land a world title. Because gifted players like Taufik, Zhao Jianhua, the Sidek brothers, Park Joo Bong, don't appear everyday ... ...
If Wong Choon Han had not got injured, he would be the national #2 and may have taken the pressure off Lee Chong Wei in the Thomas cup and in the WC. SO WCH better come back soon. Hafiz and the rest do not have enough good results to take the pressure of LCW. But Lin Dan seems to thrive in the pressure.
I think that would be putting more pressure on WCH. At this point, WCH is at the tailend of his career. He should have been allowed to retire gracefully, but the situation being the case, he can't retire yet. By right LCW should have been ably supported by Hafiz, Kuan, Lee Tsuen Seng (if he's still there). And new guys the age of Chen Jin or younger should have started making their mark.
unfortunately with only LCW as the only consistent singles player, WCH still has to be depended on .....the reason for not enuf players is because juniors are not given the opportunity to be exposed to international tournaments.....BAM keeps relying on the old 'horses'.....look at our dbls department....before Rexy joined the coaching staff, only 2 main pairs got to go to most of the tournamnets(ccm/kk & ctf/lww)....when rexy came he decided to be fair and gave every pair a fair go ....now we have seriously 4 pairs that can pose a threat (ccm/kkk, gtc/zl, lvf/mt, tbh,hth) .....i seriously believe ctf/lww is near the end of their career ..... BAM officials need to take risks and give junior players a chance....look at THB/HTH....this partnership in my own opinion will not be a there in a few years time....we in malaysia might not hav such a rich pool of quality players as in china but we have enuf to be able to compete and win international tournaments ......wht is the use of training the juniors for 6 years then never expose them to international tournaments.....if they are not talented enuf then they shouldn't be included in the training program...... another problem is BAM doesn't have any grassroots program ....the state BA's dont really work hand in hand with BAM.....they are also outside forces that are working aaginst BAM becoz sports is not about spotrs in malaysia....its abt politics
and in all honesty, its not the malaysian shuttlers tht needs to have 'surgery' to remove the mental bloc but only one person in the setup (i dont want to name names)....he is only interested in protecting his job and covering his own arxx.... actually he needs a new brain .... BAM should be run by pros but unfortunately they are asking millions of dollars fr the taxpayers and run by a bunch of amatuers
Surgery is too complex and expensive, what Mal team needs most is David Copperfield !!! David's magic touch will make everyone feels like home court no matter where they go.
