KUALA LUMPUR, June 7 — Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) president Tan Sri Mohamad Norza Zakaria believes the national squad will “explode” onto the scene at the Paris Olympics, which is being held from July 26 to August 11.
Despite the squad’s erratic performance at several world tournaments, including the recent Malaysian Masters, Norza said this is not a measure of the players’ true performance.
The BAM chief, who is also Olympic Council of Malaysia president, is confident the players will reach their peak performance in Paris.
“Let’s say they emerge champions at the Thailand Open, in Singapore … Do we want them to peak there? We want them to achieve the highest performance in Paris 2024. For them, it is the benefit of the doubt, and unwavering support.
“If they face difficult times, they need us... We will be with them, instead of saying: ‘You are hopeless’. These athletes have qualified on merit and have a high chance, while some of them are already Olympians, so they know what they will face,” he told reporters.
Norza emphasised that the rise and fall in performance the national players are going through is a process they have to undergo, and it is important to continue assisting them to find a solution so they can perform their best in Paris.
“The most important thing is that they qualified on merit and are in the top 10 in the world. Especially Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, who are ranked in the top five in the world, we should give them our best support,” he said.
Five national representatives have qualified for the Paris Games — Lee Zii Jia (men’s singles), Goh Jin Wei (women’s singles), Aaron-Wooi Yik (men’s doubles), Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah (women’s doubles), and Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei (mixed doubles).
On the World Tour Asia circuit that started with the Thailand Open on 14-19, Zii Jia emerged champion.
For the Malaysian Masters from May 21-26, Zii Jia lost to defending Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen in the final, while Tang Jie-Ee Wei and Pearly-Thinaah advanced to the semi-finals, 2022 world champions Aaron-Wooi Yik were shown the exit in the quarter-finals, and Jin Wei was eliminated early in the second round.
It was followed by the Singapore Open from May 28 to June 2, which saw Zii Jia withdrawing due to injury, while Aaron-Wooi Yik and Tang Jie-Ee Wei reached the quarter-finals, but Pearly-Thinaah and Jin Wei were stranded in the first round.
In the Indonesia Open this week, only Zii Jia and Pearly-Thinaah managed to step into the quarter-finals scheduled for today, while Tang Jie-Ee Wei and Aaron-Wooi Yik were eliminated in the first and second rounds, respectively.
— Bernama
