This disturbing trend started following the 2004 Athens Olympics when that batch of shuttlers, among other reasons, blamed motivational talks held late at night and promotional sessions as reasons for their failure. Some of those who featured in the recent Thomas Cup campaign were also part of the Athens squad, so it was basically a case of just rehashing the script.
Unfortunately for BA of Malaysia president Datuk Nadzmi Salleh, he has had to shoulder the brunt of the criticism that has been hurled at the sport. To his credit, Nadzmi has taken the blows quite well but he has to admit that BAM, despite his wealth of corporate experience, needs a serious revamp. Prevalent in BAM today is an easily satisfied culture and this was highlighted by the national coaches when they said the players lacked hunger to win and their discipline was not at the optimum level.
National Sports Council director general Datuk Zolkples Embong shed some light on the lack of discipline when he said that he only knew of Lee Chong Wei maintaining a bed time of 10pm. It may seem trivial against the complexity of the situation but given the tough regime the national shuttlers have to undergo daily, insufficient rest is akin to not performing in training and welcoming injuries. This was probably what the players meant when they cited cultural differences as a reason for China and South Korea doing so well but if they know this is the case, can't the players adopt the rigid lifestyle that shuttlers from other countries have?
Nadzmi praised the players for their ability to analyse what went wrong but the question they have to answer now is can they make the required changes to their lifestyle to ensure all that is invested in them bears fruit or are they going to continue singing the same tune every time they fail in a major tournament? Already, what used to be whispers are growing increasingly louder that Malaysian shuttlers tend to do well in tournaments which offer prize money but can't seem to reproduce the same form when it comes to events such as the World Championships and Thomas Cup. BAM's lucrative bonus scheme is a reason for this as players are lavishly rewarded for maintaining high rankings, which are easily achieved as they tend to play in nearly all Super Series events. This, however, is just one area that BAM has to tighten for the Thomas Cup failure should be viewed as a chance to get its house in order.
For starters, the elite players need to understand that they have to deliver and if BAM rewards success, it must punish failure. Nadzmi has spoken about players having to meet 80 per cent of their KPIs and this has to be implemented and to ensure that the move is transparent, the targets have to be made public. Though some players view the media as the enemy, making public their targets is one way of making them hungry for success in major events. The coaching set-up needs an urgent review too for the coaches, despite bravely speaking about the lack of hunger and discipline, have to share the blame for this happening. As much as the coaches want the players to have the discipline those from China and Korea have, they must be willing to be as firm as their counterparts from both countries are. China head coach Li Yongbo, though disliked by many, is a perfect example of what Malaysian coaches have to be to ensure there is no nonsense from the players. They must bring to BAM's attention those who are not performing and swift action must be taken for the Thomas Cup showed that some statements made by certain coaches in the buildup were meant more to please rather than to provide an accurate indication of what was happening.
BAM has to seriously look at the development squads as well as the lack of talent coming through is alarming and this is, again, something which it can learn from China. Though China have a large pool of players, there is no hesitation whatsoever in cutting losses when it comes to players failing to deliver on their early promise. Can BAM claim to have done this? It is still not too late though for the Thomas Cup will come again and so will the other major tournaments but if the reasons given by the players are cited again in the future, then BAM would have been guilty of not having learnt from the lessons of the 2010 Thomas Cup.
NST
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