Monday February 1, 2010 Yes, let’s count unsung heroes among the greats DATUK Seri Wong Chun Wai’s article “Our Forgotten Sports Heroes” (Sunday Star, Jan 31) brought back a flood of memories of my school days when I used to be a singles as well as doubles badminton player. And I still remember the 1967 Thomas Cup which sent chills down my spine. It is so commendable of Wong to remember these badminton players who brought glory to our country back then with the hope that due recognition be given to them. Although it has been so many years since, it is still better late than never for these very humble players who thought of nothing but to bring glory to Malaysia in badminton to be given the respect they deserve. The sportsmen of yesteryear are so different from the sportsmen of today. They were not as lucky as the present day lot. I suppose sports did not seem as important yesterday as it is today. That’s why they went into oblivion. It is good of The Star to remind us once again of these loyal sportsmen. Yew Cheng Hoe, Teh Kew San, Tan Yee Khan, Ng Boon Bee, Billy Ng, Tan Aik Huang and Tan Aik Mong were my greatest inspiration, and badminton became a family passion. And, yes, I do agree that they be counted among the greats who brought fame to Malaysia through badminton. Syabas to all these unsung heroes. You all really bersukan untuk Negara. EUNICE WONG,
add to the list Eddy & David Choong, Wong Peng Soon, Punch Gunalan etc ... though i guess these guys were from an even earlier era.
Hehe, those guys were my dad's era. But, I do remember him mentioning them. I grew up with Foo Kok Keong, Kwan Yoke Meng, Sidek brothers, Cheah Soon Kit, Soo Beng Kiang, Yap Kim Hock, Tan Kim Her. Was actually at Stadium Negara in 1992 during the finals as a 12 year old. Amazing scenes...
i remember a thomas cup final where one of our singles player vomitted on court while playing and had to concede .. i think it was suffian or someone.. and i cant remember which thomas cup..... anyone? regards
If BAM is run by ex-international & not by politician... Msia badminton would have been in much better state than now!
I don't think so. Instead there is a high possibility they will run BAM into bankruptcy. BAM is a sports organization which requires organizational expertise. Ex-internationals were only good in playing the game, training, selecting, and other facets involving skills in the game. But to run an organization? No way. They will be so burdened with management, allocation of resources, etc in which they have no expertise. Coaches, even the best and most expensive ones, can be hired, and if they don't perform, fired. Now, let us take a reality check. Do you expect Malaysia to be world beaters in badminton over China, Indonesia, and Korea? For Malaysia to rank behind these 3 countries but above all the other countries, this would be par for the course. If Malysia is ranked higher than #4, say at #2 or even #3, then this is one notch gain on the arms race. But then, after reaching #2 or #3 it must prepare seriously to prevent an back sliding, because the others who lost out will come out with something better to dethrone you.
u forgot that u should benchmark malaysian badminton pros against malaysian (IBM) politicians, not other politicians against malaysian badminton pros. If BAM required outside help from morten frost, li mao, rexy, and hendrawen, SURELY malaysia politic can be improved with some outside help too but for job security, they dont bring outside expertise for fear that their incompetency can be exposed.
wat a coincidence...me n my group were there too...scrambling all over the front grille counter while jostling n forming brigades to purchase tickets.Took us ages to get the queues going by which time Rashid already played (thankfully was 15 pts or else would had missed the 1st single base upon current format) And for 1st time in Mas badminton history the stadium patrons actually performed mEXICAN WAVES...throughout the final. oh ya we were no kids la.....sang patriotic song trully a nite for Mas without color or creed...sad some ppl didnt get to appreciate that meaningful victory for payers but also to citizen as a whole...meritorious win n not pilih kasih..
Are you suggesting Canada recruit George W. Bush as Prime Minister of Canada? This will make Canada real macho-country, hunting for WMD in the four corners of the world, and then getting fired when all the WMD turned to be nothing more menacing than bows and arrows. In a more realistic note, yes you can hire expatriates for their expertise provided they are more cost-effective and will not meddle in the host country's sovereignty. The same with BAM. Management is like a country's sovereign power; players and coaches come under this umbrella. Of course you cannot hire foreign players to represent your country, but you can get around this ala Singapore, Holland, USA, etc. As for coaches, you are free to hire anyone, provided they do not usurp the power of BAM.
SERVING TO RAISE FUNDS: Former national badminton ace Datuk Eddy Choong is putting his beloved racquet up for auction later this month on behalf of the Rotary Club of George Town. Biddingwill start at RM6,000. The auction is to raise funds to finance renovations to the Rotary Club Heritage House in Armenian Street. At least RM100,000 is expected to be collected at the charity drive held in conjunctionwith the Penang International Property Expo 2010 from March 19 to 21 at the Penang International Sports Arena. Eddy and his brother, Datuk David Choong,were the former doubles All England champions from 1951 to 1953.— NST picture by Ramdzan Masiam
how I can ever forget that night... i am still a kid and didnt really fancy the game yet... i remember for two consecutive night, me and my family stayed in front of the tv until 12.30 am just to see our team beat CHN in SF, and finally INA in the Final....the spirit is so high.. even we are not in Stadium Negara but the whole neighbourhood in my area did not sleep yet and we can hear shout of joy or disappointment everytime a point is won or lost...what a night... Rashid Sidek is unstoppable (not losing a single match) throughout the Finals Foo Kok Keong rise to ocassion when it matters most...esp in the final Razif and Jalani almost fail us...loosing to Eddy/Rudy... Soon Kit/ Beng Kiang save the day while Kwan Yoke Meng , just a mere passenger sadly...after the Finals...we never have a chance to win TC again eventhough come close few times... but i think this year or 2012 also will not
provided LCW and KKK/TBH duly deliver without fail... HH considered passenger this time... can only use against KOR only CHN and INA...no hope