Skip to main content

Doubles Pairs, What A Letdown - Razif

From Dan Guen Chin

JAKARTA, June 25 (Bernama) -- The performance of the Malaysian men's doubles pair at the Indonesian Open here has been a huge disappointment.

So said Razif Sidek, a member of the 1992 Thomas Cup winning team and an All-England men's doubles winner with younger brother Jalani in 1982.

Razif the former National head coach who was at the Istora Senayan, venue of the championship, took the Malaysians to task over their performances, or rather the lack of it, at the championship.

The challenge of Mohamad Fairuzizuan Tazari/Ong Soon Hock, Hoon Tien How/Zakri Latiff ended in the first round while 2007 All England winners Tan Boon Heong/Koo Kien Keat fell in the quarter-finals to an unknown Indonesian pair.

"I saw them play and it was clear that they were not mentally and physically prepared for the championship," said Razif.

Razif, who is now a sports commentator, added that the physical state of the Malaysians was another vital aspect which needed to be looked into.

"They looked so tired on court and I wonder why. Even Kien Keat and Boon Heong who are a world class pair are just not up to it physically.

"Every shot they play, they seem to be under pressure. That's not good," added Razif.

The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) is well aware of the men's doubles shortcomings in Jakarta.

Boon Heong is going to partner Tien How instead at the Kedah Open in Alor Star in mid July in an attempt to introduce a breath of fresh air into the Kien Keat-Boon Heong combination.

"Maybe that's what they need. A slight change in their routine could probably make them more adaptable and responsive to all kinds of challenges," said BAM's High Performance director Datuk James Selvaraj.

-- BERNAMA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ex-coach's jail sentence cut to a year

PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal yesterday sentenced former athletics coach C. Ramanathan to 12 months' jail for molesting two junior athletes 19 years ago. A three-man bench led by Datuk Mohd Hishamudin Mohd Yunus unanimously dismissed Ramanathan's appeal against conviction, but varied the jail sentence of four years to a year, which was to run concurrently. Following yesterday's ruling, Ramanathan, 75, a former teacher, walked out a free man as he had served 10 months in Kajang Prison. Convicts get one-third remission for good behaviour while in prison. However, he will lose his pension. Hishamudin, who sat with Datuk Abdul Wahab Patail and Datuk Linton Albert, said the court found no merit to overturn the conviction. "However, in reducing the sentence, we considered Ramanathan's age and the long years the appeal has taken." Deputy public prosecutor Awang Armadajaya Awang Mahmud submitted that then High Court judge Tan Sri Abdull Hamid E...
2 comments
Read more

Govt Always Gives Emphasis To Sporting Culture, Says PM

KUALA TERENGGANU, May 29 (Bernama) -- Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badaw i said the government always gives emphasis on cultivating a strong sporting culture in achieving excellence at the international level. As such, the Prime Minister said, it was important to scout for young talents in sports. "I observe that the Malaysia Games (Sukma) has become one of the important platforms to do so. "In this arena, the potentials and skills of the youngsters can be identified for development so that they can achieve greater success in sports," he said in his message in the souvenir book of the 12th Sukma from May 31 until June 9. Abdullah said he was aware that competition in sports was very keen and challenging but this did not mean that Malaysian athletes were incapable of competing at the international level. "The fact is that we have all the characteristics required to be excellent. We must inculcate a strong fighting spirit so that we don't easily surrender,...
1 comment
Read more

Rajagobal Let Off The Hook

PETALING JAYA, April 24 (Bernama) -- National head coach Datuk K. Rajagobal was let off the hook by the Football Association of Malaysia's (FAM) Disciplinary Committee after finding no evidence that he had violated FAM's Article 88, as claimed. FAM Disciplinary Committee chairman Datuk Taufik Abdul Razak said the committee had decided not to charge Rajagobal after carefully analysing the video of the post-match press conference by the 56-year-old coach. "After listening to the recording of the post-match press conference, we decided to drop the charge against Rajagopal as he did not make such a statement. "Maybe his (Rajagobal) assessment and comments of the match was misconstrued by the media. There was no mention of the FAM policy throughout his comments," said Taufik after emerging from a three-hour Disciplinary Committee meeting at Wisma FAM in Kelana Jaya, here, Wednesday. Rajagobal who does not mince his words when asked to com...
4 comments
Read more