Wednesday March 17, 2010 RM2mil in perks for badminton stars KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has announced a RM2mil allocation for the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) to pay bonuses in arrears for its players and coaches. This came after national shuttler Datuk Lee Chong Wei’s victory in the All-England tournament on Sunday. “This is a long-awaited victory at one of the highest levels of badminton. This will be a stepping stone to winning the Thomas Cup,” Najib said after he and his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor received Lee and coach Datuk Misbun Sidek at their official residence yesterday. Najib said he had high hopes of Malaysia winning the Thomas Cup in May, but did not want to put pressure on the players. “I just want them to concentrate on preparing for it,” he said. Najib also said there were plans to set up a badminton academy to develop younger players and strengthen the country’s position in world badminton. “If there is no systematic development in the sport, we may run out of players of calibre in the future,” he said, adding that the Youth and Sports, and Education ministries were currently identifying locations for the academy. Najib also said the Youth and Sports Ministry would help BAM with its administrative processes. “For example, they can arrange for our players to arrive at overseas venues earlier, so they have more time to prepare.” Special memento: Chong Wei presenting Najib with the badminton racket he used to win Sunday’s All-England finals as Rosmah and Misbun look on yesterday.
100th All England more prestigious than Olympic Gold? If you're going to watch the Olympics, you'll notice that it has a different environment. Suddenly, ALL the players are serious, much more serious than any Super Series even. You'll see the desire to win ... the drive to perform well for their country. The viewers can even feel the pressure. In the Olympics, you're playing for your country. It has a totally different league compared to the 100th AE event. Both 100th AE and Olympics are prestigious. But AE should not at all be compared to the Olympics.
off topic-.. *sigh*..as expected, the discussion has evolved to discussing more abt the old age debate: which one has more perceptive value, OG or AE??.. ..that's quite true..I guess team sports (hockey, basketball) in the Olympics, it's more about national pride. The Olympics can be somewhat related to futbol/soccer and the upcoming World Cup. ..i think it depends on the sport and how many fan base/interest from the major entities around the world are tied to a particular sport. There are a few factors why basketball has shown a steady presence in the OG, but the biggest one is schedule (like what hcyong mentioned, for badminton, BWF will schedule the rest of their tourneys, for that particular yr, around the OG). For baseball, it was on and off as an Olympics sport. It used to be part of the Olympics but will no longer be part in 2012, despite the U.S. arguably who invented the sport. But why is it not an Olympic sport anymore? Because the interest just wasn't there (at least one argument tells the MLB is not interested in suspending its season's schedule so the game's top athletes could compete; IOW, conflict with schedule) and not enough countries are interested in it. Ice Hockey, in the Winter Olympics, works also for the most part because the NHL is willing to suspend their schedule for 2 weeks. Different with basketball in the Olympics. Many countries have vested interest in the sport. Add to that the NBA also shows interest (partly it works because the Olympics, along with the FIBA WC, happen during the NBA off-season period).
No, Olympic is more important. What is it about Malaysian players that run off and skip tournaments that they are scheduled to play as soon as they win the All-England??? Hafiz did it and now Lee Chong Wei does it. It speaks of weak mental strength. Lee Chong Wei should have gone and played in the Swiss Open, and hopefully, meet Lin Dan in the final. And if he is truly mentally tough, he has to beat Lin Dan in the final as well and win 4 SS titles in a row. There is no excuse for disappearing after winning the All-England. The Malaysian players of old did not do that as they would not be refunded the ticket price and they paid their own way.
Kenichi Tago went to play in the Swiss Open after being an All-England runners-up. And he has to fight hard to win a 3 game match Chetan Anand. He will go far.
So making speeches and shaking hands with VIP is more important than winning more tournaments. He is not hungry enough. If he carries this on, he will become another yoyo.
What do you think Lin Dan has been doing since the Olympics? Partying has been the #1 priority for him.
But dammit, according to ronk, screw the handshakes,he's got to play more or he'll become a yoyo [he says facetiously]
Tine Ramussen is known to withdraw her next tournament after winning...She didwithdraw Swiis Open 3 times
LD is different. He is generous enough to let his CJ and BCL have a crack at titles Real missing piece for LD, IMO, is the asian game individual MS title
hey, i still have my reservation on the bcl - ld outcome from the 2010 AE i have my theory only jia you fans would understand
Weak mental strength, Malaysians. Give me a dollar every time you see them mentioned in the same sentence ...
You wouldnt say that if you were in his shoes & the VIP is the Prime Minister, Sports Minister,etc who are powerful people. During the reception with LCW, Misbun, the PM announced that the government would give BAM RM2 million so that BAM can settle unpaid dues to the players, so.....no need think also know which event BAM would think as more important And LCW had to do all that too after OG 2008. The way you're saying like Msian players always withdraw next tournament after winning. LCW normally doesnt do that, the doubles players dont either.
Malaysian sportsmen nowadays are treated like the stock market. Highly valued when successful, ignored when not so hot ...... But even during moments of success, distractions due to too much public appearances come along. The whole Malaysian Thomas Cup squad never achieved beyond what they could have been capable of after the 1992 victory because of it. If we are really going to be serious as a sporting nation, support must come thru thick and thin.