So Joanne will go for 10 straight World Championships and All-England singles. Allright, we will let her off with doubles as long as she wins 10 years of undefeatable singles play at the highest level . Must be at least 10 years but 15 will be better. Ron
Sylvia Ng and Rosalind Singa Ang were two notable stars of the 1960s and 70s. We are not devoid of potential talent..In Malaysia we are producing new crop of players. It is just that other countries have better systems than ours to turn out champions. Indonesia used to produce champions. China is mass producing them as they have a great system in nuturing talents from an early age.
I wonder how Joanne is going now, it's been 5 years and after reading all the posts she would now be 17 or there abouts. Has she given up yet?? Tim H
Hahaha. I just turned 18. How am I doing? Well, you definitely don't see me in international tournaments. I trained intensively for about a year when I was 14, and improved by leaps and bounds. The best part was causing upsets in tournaments when this unknown, short, unseeded girl went in court and knocked out seeded players. Hehehe. But I prefer badminton as a social game, when training became more intense, I began to dislike it. The constant pressure by coaches to do better and better in tournaments made me begin to dislike badminton. Badminton began to feel like a chore, and it started to feel like I was FORCED to play it, not that I WANTED to play it. Plus I didn't receive much parental support, they preferred me to concentrate on my studies, my skipping school/extra classes for tournaments/training didn't please them too much. On top of that, I was constantly plagued by injuries, namely a weak shoulder. So I quit intensive training then, and trained only once a week when I was 15. Of course, with only once a week you can hardly improve. Chose to concentrate on studies and my school co-curricular activities(when training intensively you've got no time for school activities, it was physical/skill training after school).. and well, I daresay I fared reasonably well in studies for my form 5(SPM). My friends who continued their intensive training after I left are now pretty good players, some are in Bukit Jalil Sports School(Malaysia's 'grooming ground' for future national players), the rest are state players. And most can thrash me flat now. Except for the younger ones, U12 state players(I can probably give them a run for their money.. I think). Hahaha. They were just learning how to hold the racket when I left that training. However, my love for badminton has not faded. Hehe. I noticed that I mentioned before that I loved singles. Well, now I'll say I prefer doubles. Firstly, because it's so much more fun when you play in social games. And 2ndly, so much more fast-paced as compared to singles.. ah, just pure exhilarating. I just finished one of my last tournaments(I think) in the U18 category.. just an inter-school, district level tournament. Bronze for singles, silver for doubles. It's likely to be my last tournament(for this year, at least), unless I get selected to represent my district for the state level tournament. So basically I'm a nobody in badminton, just someone who really enjoys the game. Sorry to disappoint any hopes BC had for me, but I wanted to excel in studies, not badminton(contrary to what people think, it's really really really hard to really excel in both, one had to go). No guarantees if I chose to concentrate on badminton(what if I fail miserably after giving up studies), cowardly though this reason may seem. Honestly, I don't think I have the talent needed to make it big. Up to state level, maybe. Beyond that? Nah. Really interesting to read what I used to post when I was younger though. Hehehe. Back to topic: The standard for female players in Malaysia now is rather low, so any young girl out there aspiring to make it big in badminton, go for it! Look at me, practically stopped training long ago but still winning 2nd, 3rd place in tournaments. Goes to show how few girls out there train hard enough to beat poor players like me. Plus girls get to be surrounded by guys all the time in badminton, if it's of any importance to some girls.
You haven't disappointed anyone here In fact, we are quite proud of you. We're also proud to have you here. IMHO, what matters is not what you are doing but whether you enjoy what you are doing. And, from what you have posted, you now seem to be happier than you would have been seeking a career in an environment of steady pressure. You go, girl
Jojooooooooooooooooooooooo... Anyway, I see her on MSN sometimes so no comments on what she's up to. [off-topic] Re-read my own posts and I surprised myself and how I used to be able to write like that. Is it the topic or did I just grew bitter in the past couple of years? [/off topic]
now...malaysian female player is quite up to standard now...beside wong/chin...goh liu ying and ng hui lin is the best we have...follow by woon khe wei...then sabrina...this four will reach atleast world 2nd level when uber cup held next year...for ws...julia is on her career high in wr...16 in the world...the target for her is to enter top ten before uber cup start...and for lydia...hope she will be in wr 20 before uber cup start too...^^...
