BANGKOK: There is no need for panic over Malaysia’s badminton showing at the SEA Games as long as players remain within planned performance parameters.
Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) secretary-general Datuk Kenny Goh stressed that the most important measure of progress is whether athletes continue to meet the performance milestones set for them under the national programme.
“The most important thing is that they reach their milestones. As long as they are within the milestones we have set, we will continue to support them,” he said.
He explained that not every milestone is necessarily expected to be achieved at the SEA Games, noting that certain targets may instead be met at higher-level tournaments such as the World Tour Finals.
“One of the milestones may not be achieved at the SEA Games, but it could be reached at the World Tour Finals. What matters is that we continue to monitor their progress. As long as they reach the milestones we have set, it means they are in a good position,” he said.
Goh, who is also the Deputy Chef de Mission of the Malaysian contingent, cautioned against knee-jerk reactions when results fall short at a single tournament, saying immediate punishment or harsh judgement would be counterproductive.
“We must not have a knee-jerk reaction just because one tournament does not go as planned. As long as they remain within the milestones, we should not be overly worried,” he said.
However, he added that concern and intervention would be necessary if players begin to drift away from those benchmarks.
“If they go off the milestones, then we should be worried and we should do something about it.
“But even then, we need to sit down in the boardroom and find out what actually happened — not to label it as a failure, but to understand the real factors involved,” he said.
Kenny said such reviews are essential to ensure future milestones are met and that the programme remains on track.
At the SEA Games in Bangkok, Malaysia won one gold medal in badminton through women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan-M Thinaah.
The men’s doubles duo Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik claimed silver, while reigning mixed doubles world champions Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei settled for bronze. Women’s singles player Wong Ling Ching also contributed a bronze medal to the national tally.
