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.”
