Kuala Lumpur: On Monday, president of Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) Tengku Mahaleel Tengku Ariff voiced his unhappiness over the poor performances of men’s singles players at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games. He also denied that he and other association members interfered with the shuttlers selection process. Althought he didn’t refer to a specific name, he clearly targeted the men’s singles head coach, Rashid Sidek, who was responsible for picking players to replace Datuk Lee Chong Wei at Glasgow.
“Coaches are like teachers. If a teacher cannot teach the student to reach his full potential then it could be the fault of the teacher,” said Tengku Mahaleel.
“The chief coach recommended Liew Daren and the others for the Commonwealth Games to BAM, the coach said Daren is still capable of playing,” added Tengku Mahaleel.
When asked about this on Wednesday, Rashid Sidek insisted the ultimate power of player selection rested in the hands of BAM officials.
“As the men’s singles head coach, I take full responsibility for our singles’ poor performances at the Commonwealth Games,” said Rashid Sidek.
“However, BAM could have rejected the proposal if they felt Daren was not at his best, but why did they still allowed Daren to go to Glasgow? They’ve rejected our proposals before the Thomas Cup and Uber Cup finals, why didn’t they exercise their power this time?,” added Rashid.
The world number one Datuk Lee Chong Wei who has resumed his training after the thigh injury, openly urged both sides to calm down.
“Coaches can only provide guidance to a player; what the player does with that guidance is up to them,” said Chong Wei.
“Coaches can give players every opportunity and every tip on how to be successful in badminton, but ultimately, the athlete has to decide for himself if that’s what he wants,” added Chong Wei.
Lee Chong Wei also confirmed that Daren Liew will not be included in the Asian Games. “Chong Wei Feng, Goh Soon Huat and I will play in Incheon, and the coaches are still deciding on another shuttlers.”
BadmintonPlanet.com’s Note: August 8, 2014
Come one BAM, it’s easy to make coaches a scapegoat when things inevitably went sour. And when things do go right, the coaches were not given well deserved credit. About two months ago, they were left out when BAM rewarded Malaysian Thomas Cup shuttlers RM25,000 each for making the Thomas Cup final. Coaches are like a moral compass for those badminton players, but the coaches cannot always be there to drive the ship. The last thing you want is leaving those shuttlers lost at sea without a compass. Wish both sides can reach a peaceful resolution for the benefit of Malaysian badminton.
