Shuttlers list out reasons for poor performance in the Finals KUALA LUMPUR: The Thomas-Uber Cup players have blamed the failure to host centralised training in isolation as one of the many reasons for their poor performances. These issues were brought up during a no-holds barred meeting with the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) president Datuk Nadzmi Mohd Salleh yesterday. Other grievances and excuses brought up by the shuttlers were that: ·they were, culturally, not as mentally strong as the shuttlers from China and South Korea; ·there was too much disturbance from the media and their surroundings (at the hostel where they shared the facilities with athletes from other sports at Bukit Kiara); ·the motivation camp was held too close to the Finals; ·they lost to Japan (2-3 in the group tie) because they did not get a chance to try out the stadium when Nigeria failed to turn up for their opening match. Nadzmi said he was surprised to hear their reasons for their tame performances when it mattered most. The Thomas Cup squad, led by world No. 1s Lee Chong Wei and Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong, went down 0-3 to China in the semi-finals while the Uber Cup team, led by Wong Mew Choo and Chin Eei Hui-Wong Pei Tty, went down by a similar score to Indonesia in the quarter-finals. “The objective of this meeting was for the players to speak to me in a relaxed and open manner. They were free to say what they felt about their performances in the Finals,” said Nadzmi. “Chong Wei understood what happened to him (in his match against Lin Dan). He says that his condition was equal to Lin Dan's but that the China ace was better prepared. Chong Wei is also aware that there are no back-up players coming through. “All of them could analyse what had happened. I do not want to go into details. Every individual had his or her own set of problems. “Generally, they said that China and South Korea had players who were mentally strong because of their culture.” Nadzmi said that the players felt that a two-week training in isolation would have done them a world of good before the Finals. “It would have kept them away from their families and the press. They felt that there were too much distraction. In China and South Korea, the players trained in isolation before the Finals. In fact, coaches and players only get to see their families once every two weeks,” he said. “Sometimes, negative reports can be a distraction. In a competition, the best team do not necessarily win. There are a lot of external and multi-faceted factors that need to be looked into.” When told that the players should have analysed their own shortcomings instead of highlighting external factors, Nadzmi said: “Yes, they also blamed themselves. They need help and it is our duty to manage and find the best way to overcome this problem. “We are not jumping to any conclusions here. I am also not saying what the players said here today is right or wrong. “We are not blaming anyone but we are looking for solutions. There could be other factors, like the players' lifestyles or commitment in training. We will come out with a conclusion when we have had our post-mortem.”
Now, they blame the "culture"...??? I thought we have "Msia BOLEH" culture, it means "semua pun BOLEH" (anything is possible)? I find it absurd that these players blame our culture for THEIR weak minds.
..i think the MAS players should take cue from the MAS BCers on how to trounce & demolish their visitors: Provide a satay or nasi lemak feast after the tournament, or perhaps every day, so the visitors' focus would be on food instead of the matches..
I think MAS players need to be train in PBSI....they cant beat INA players in all levels yet...learn from INA which we have less facilities than MAS but still perform.... You do not see any excuses from INA team when they lost...we take the loss and practice again... Seriously if INA has BAM's facilities...INA can beat any players..
I watched our 1992 TC team playing against the giants... I particularly admired their courage (mentally strong) when all odds were against them. One good example is our hero FooKK... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDeq6yo8mmU
What a joke ...... Culture, indeed. That is the difference between the team of today and the team that won the Cup 18 years ago. The culture then was not to reward (or even announce a reward) until something is achieved. Training was no nonsense that any sign of a bulging stomach will force the player to run another couple of laps. Then only will we get to see players using all their effort. Rashid Sidek almost collapsed on court after beating Ardy Wiranata in the 1st singles. Jalani Sidek, with high fever, still played more than one hour to keep the opposition working in 3 games. Foo Kok Keong using all his mental energy to topple Alan Budi Kusuma. This is why I feel that PBSI is actually doing more for the players than the current BAM ever did. By not having so many facilities and rewards, Indonesian players tend to rise to the occasion. The hunger is kept burning for longer.
Yes ,true, training was so hard that 1-2 years later Rashid Sidek fell out with Yang Yang because Yang Yangs training was too tough for him. A few years later fell out again with Morten Frost. Culture indeed.
Other excuses I can accept. There could be certain truths in it, and preparations for future tournaments could take these factors into account. Culture? A bit difficult to accept. Essentially, you are blaming the whole race/nation for your loss. It's just an easy excuse for laziness. Don't get me wrong. You do train very hard and you are still the best that Malaysians can offer. But given your privileged position representing your country, what you have shown is not enough.
Maybe what they are hinting is not about race, all they are saying is perhaps they want the tough Lee Yong Bo or 1988 Fang Kai Xiang regime that brought 80s badminton back to life. Instead of barangan/culture Malaysia /indonesia. It has worked before , maybe worth some thought, then again is it still available.
Hmm, anything else? Judging by this statement; “Generally, they said that China and South Korea had players who were mentally strong because of their culture.” there are 2 at the moment I guess. 1. Their brains should be at the bottom which is more spacious for growth to become bigger and stronger. 2. It has got to be NATURE cos not a single of the them comes close to behave like a NATURAL champ. These guys gave us a bad name. Before anything else...Boleh, after everything crumbles...Bodoh. Oh! One more thing, now he says his nemesis was better prepared. Any of you guys notice his secret weapons which he had brag before the tournament. I must be blind.
just as a hypothetic situation. if the Malaysian Thomas Cup team has possessed the fighting spirit of say the Japanese team or the Korean Team, do you think they can win against China in the TC SF? if the answer is yes, then we must ask why is that fighting spirit missing? if the answer is yes, then we will have re-created what the Korea UC team did to China. they are the underdog, they rose to the occasion and slained the dragon. if the answer is no, then why not? what is still missing technically in the players and the lineup?
My view is this : 1) The koreans won Uber not by fighting only, they were also the better team and had good skillfull players. 2) In the Thomas cup Denmark,Korea and Indonesia all fought very hard but were still edged out. i believe China won the thomas Cup because they focussed on it and were better prepared.Malaysia's preparation was not so thorough and there was inadequate depth and quality as opposed to Korean Uber Cup team. That is not expert opinion just digesting reruns again and again.it is probably the same answer from many veteran journalists. People wanted answers from the losers, that's their answer,what do you want them to say, its not an excuse, just an answer to ponder over. Would you want them to give my answer and step on a few toes?
Of course they are stating facts, Fuzzy and Hafiz should be culturally different, LCW too if he's IMalaysia. If he wants to be culturally similar maybe he should be given permission to play in the China league where he can play his guts out.
Interpret carefully. "THESE GUYS" means each and every one of them. The last one was specifically targeted at that specific guy's own statement. I'm neutral and see things as a whole. I don't idolize or be fanatic like others. If you are offended because of that particular statement, please pardon me. This forum is all about differences in opinions. If you dislike any part of it, just ignore it. No hard feelings and hope I'm well understood. Cool?
Do you see them as excuses? LCw Koo etc etcall have already explained their losses during interviews,facebook etc. The BAM is going round trying to find out the reasons for the thrashing, they are just gathering info to make further minor changes. If you were the players what would you say? Blame the BAM ? Admit you are no good ,take the blame and commit Harakiri?
