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12-31-2003, 09:03 PM
Sport: Badminton: Ready to give up Thomas Cup glory
NSTP - EMedia
S.S. Dhaliwal
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IN a bold move, the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) revealed that they were prepared to sacrifice the Thomas Cup in order to deliver the nation’s first gold medal at the Olympics.
The decision, which was taken at a meeting of the Coaching and Training Committee, shows that BAM know their priorities and are prepared to make sacrifices in order to bring the elusive Olympic gold to Malaysian shores.
There is no doubt that badminton is the only sport in the country which is capable of delivering a gold medal at the Olympics.
But the decision to sacrifice the Thomas Cup, which is largely accepted as the World team tournament title, was made in order to fulfil the nation’s hopes and aspirations.
“It will be extremely difficult for the players to peak twice in a space of three months and hence, we had to make a decision,” said BAM president Datuk Mohd Nadzmi Mohd Salleh.
“The Thomas Cup Finals will be held in May whereas the Olympics in August, and we want those who qualify for the Athens Olympics to focus solely on delivering the gold.
“In fact, we will also leave these players out of the Malaysian Open scheduled for July.
“We have to get our priorities right and to the BAM, delivering a gold at the Olympics tops our list of priorities.
“Having said that, I must reiterate that the final decision to rest the players will have to be made by the coaches.”
Nadzmi said for the Thomas Cup qualifiers, Malaysia will be represented by their best players and there was no question of holding back in trying to make the Thomas Cup Finals.
The decision to rest the players received the thumbs up from coaches Misbun Sidek and Yap Kim Hock.
“Our preparations for 2004 are geared towards getting our players into the Olympics and winning a gold medal,” said Misbun.
“I do not think that we should be overly worried about the Thomas Cup as we have capable players who can shoulder the responsibility.”
BAM also revealed plans to prepare players for the 2008 and 2012 Olympics with a systematic selection and exposure of players.
“What we need to do is to ensure that the players know their targets early and are mentally tuned towards achieving the objective,” said Nadzmi.
“So a comprehensive programme will be drawn up by the coaches to ensure that those identified will benefit from close attention during training and be given suitable international exposure to help them develop into world-beaters.”
NSTP - EMedia
S.S. Dhaliwal
Send to a friend | Printable Page
IN a bold move, the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) revealed that they were prepared to sacrifice the Thomas Cup in order to deliver the nation’s first gold medal at the Olympics.
The decision, which was taken at a meeting of the Coaching and Training Committee, shows that BAM know their priorities and are prepared to make sacrifices in order to bring the elusive Olympic gold to Malaysian shores.
There is no doubt that badminton is the only sport in the country which is capable of delivering a gold medal at the Olympics.
But the decision to sacrifice the Thomas Cup, which is largely accepted as the World team tournament title, was made in order to fulfil the nation’s hopes and aspirations.
“It will be extremely difficult for the players to peak twice in a space of three months and hence, we had to make a decision,” said BAM president Datuk Mohd Nadzmi Mohd Salleh.
“The Thomas Cup Finals will be held in May whereas the Olympics in August, and we want those who qualify for the Athens Olympics to focus solely on delivering the gold.
“In fact, we will also leave these players out of the Malaysian Open scheduled for July.
“We have to get our priorities right and to the BAM, delivering a gold at the Olympics tops our list of priorities.
“Having said that, I must reiterate that the final decision to rest the players will have to be made by the coaches.”
Nadzmi said for the Thomas Cup qualifiers, Malaysia will be represented by their best players and there was no question of holding back in trying to make the Thomas Cup Finals.
The decision to rest the players received the thumbs up from coaches Misbun Sidek and Yap Kim Hock.
“Our preparations for 2004 are geared towards getting our players into the Olympics and winning a gold medal,” said Misbun.
“I do not think that we should be overly worried about the Thomas Cup as we have capable players who can shoulder the responsibility.”
BAM also revealed plans to prepare players for the 2008 and 2012 Olympics with a systematic selection and exposure of players.
“What we need to do is to ensure that the players know their targets early and are mentally tuned towards achieving the objective,” said Nadzmi.
“So a comprehensive programme will be drawn up by the coaches to ensure that those identified will benefit from close attention during training and be given suitable international exposure to help them develop into world-beaters.”