On the ball: Riding on old horses is not the way forward

Vijesh Rai

WHAT does it take for an athlete to be dropped from a national programme?

This is a question that is being increasingly asked as Malaysia, despite the millions spent annually, struggles to make an impact on the world stage.

Sure, we still have Nicol David but the chasing pack is huge and the day will soon come when the squash star will have to release her stranglehold on the sport.

And with no quality players coming through the ranks, Olympic Council of Malaysia president Tunku Imran Tuanku Ja'afar's worst fears will be realised and the nation will lose its grip on the one sport where we dominate.

That this may happen to a sport that has produced a world champion indicates just how serious the situation is in other sports.

Badminton's Lee Chong Wei doesn't have a successor and soon, Malaysia will be left to rely on only the inconsistent men's doubles.

Would badminton be in this position had the BA of Malaysia taken firm action much earlier against the singles players who were not delivering?

Hafiz Hashim, Kuan Beng Hong and the back-up players have all been struggling for a while now and yet, for some reason, BAM has kept them in its stable.

This had led to complacency for these players believe that they, despite being mediocre at best, are indispensable and see no reason to improve.

As an association that prides itself as the one sport which has won Olympic medals for the country, has BAM ever stopped to think whether China, Indonesia or South Korea would allow passengers in their squads?

Sport is about performance and if there are players who are not delivering, shouldn't they be dropped?

It is the same in several other sports and it was interesting to read Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNCF) president Abu Samah Wahab's take on the performance of Azizul Hasni Awang and Rizal Tisin in the recent Asian Championships.

Abu Samah took both cyclists to task for not winning gold in their individual events, saying that reputations mean nothing in the international arena.

Some have not taken Abu Samah's criticism of the cyclists well but this is something we need to do more often.

Azizul and Rizal still have a long way to go and we don't want them to lose their competitive edge, as was the case with Hafiz, even before they reach the midway point of their journey.

In fact, Hafiz would probably not be in the hopeless situation he is in now had he been dropped from the national programme when he first went into a rut.

Had he been dropped then, he would have -- any decent athlete would -- to fight his way back into the squad but the problem is, Malaysian sport doesn't believe in showing athletes the exit.