A Step Too Far ?

Congratulations Malaysia for winning the AFF Suzuki Cup 2010. I must admit, I've not expected them to reach the semi-finals more so winning the tournament after a being convincingly defeated by Indonesia in the first match. Kudos to the our young guns. They deserve it after showing hard work and dedication on the pitch.

However, the move by our government by awarding a public holiday to celebrate the victory is something up for debate. No harm in celebrating the win for arguably the most popular sports in Malaysia but surely awarding a public holiday is going a step too far...at least for me. I'm still puzzled at the decision and find it hard to justify the extra day off. Not to undermine the victory, but I don't remember a public holiday being declared after Nicol won her first World Championship or Lee Choong Wei winning the All-England ?

Perhaps celebrations and rewards using good sense in this case is suffice to spur the team to greater heights?

Champions of SEA

Charting the Future of Malaysian Badminton - An Interview

Honorary Secretary of BAM & Chairman of the Coaching & Training Committee, Mr. Ng Chin Chai shares with us his story and his views on the future of Malaysian Badminton. 

by JY

JY : Tell us a bit about yourself and how did you start off in Badminton? Do you still play competitive badminton?

NCC: I am 47 years old, born, bred and educated in Seremban. Studied in King George V Primary & Secondary School and continued further education at University of Malaya. Presently practicing as a lawyer in Seremban. I started badminton when I was 10 years old, playing with neighbors in an empty plot of land with a net stringed across a coconut tree and a rambutan tree. Started formal training at 13 and played for NS State from 14 onwards, for around 18 years. Represented the country at junior level for 2 years. Nowadays I play socially about twice a week and still take part at club and state level competitions, mostly in the veteran category. However I had a knee and shoulder surgery during the last 1 year and hardly played during this period.         

JY : You're a Seremban boy and you travel daily to KL, why don't u move to the Klang Valley where which is closer to BAM HQ?

NCC: My family is in Seremban and my 3 children are schooling in Seremban. Moving around in Seremban for work, school, activities and leisure takes much shorter time compared to in Klang Valley. Residents in Seremban get better quality time. I travel to BAM office around 3 times a week and it’s not a hassle for me. It takes average of 1 hour journey and I can plan my timing to avoid peak hours’ traffic.

JY : How do you feel being appointed the honorary secretary of BAM & chairman of the coaching & training committee?

NCC: I was pleasantly surprised and deeply honoured when I was appointed firstly as the Honorary Secretary on 4 June 2010 and later as Chairman of the Coaching & Training Committee in 2 July 2010. I have a great passion for badminton, more so when for the honour of our beloved country. All my life I’ve been trying to contribute towards Malaysian’s badminton and when the opportunity came, I took up the appointment without hesitation as now I can be in the driver’s seat to steer the direction of Malaysian’s badminton towards a higher level.

JY : Misbun recently voiced out that, more emphasis should be given to training in BJSS if we were to produce world beaters. In our culture, where parents place education highly, do you think this will be a challenge? How does BAM expect to tackle this?

NCC : BJSS is run by Ministry of Education whose responsibility is education, with a greater emphasis on sports in BJSS. So far BAM have no problem with the balance of studies and training of our BJSS students, in fact we are churning out World and Asian junior champions from BJSS regularly. 

Badminton is one of the more popular sports in our country and fortunately a lot of parents are willing to allow their children to play the sports seriously, even to the extent of putting less emphasis on their children’s education or even giving it up. The challenge is for our government to put greater emphasis on sports by giving sports achievers advantage in getting places for higher education, scholarships, job opportunities etc. and this will encourage parents to push their children towards sporting excellence. On the part of BAM, we hope that BJSS will give badminton more places for potential players identified by us and for the government to give us more funding of our BJSS training programme.

JY : BAM has introduced a revamp of coaching & training policies in BAM, how is this different from previous policies and what results do we expect to see in the near future?

NCC : Previously the National Training Centre is made up of Singles and Doubles squads headed by a Singles Chief Coach and a Doubles Chief Coach. After the revamp there is 6 squads, i.e. Men Singles Elite Squad,  Men Doubles Elite Squad, Women Singles Squad,  Women Doubles Squad,  Men Singles Back-up Squad (consisting of players below 21 years) and Men Singles Back-up Squad (consisting of players below 21 years). There are now 6 Head Coaches for the 6 different squads and they are headed by a High Performance Director, whose job is administrative while the coaches job are technical and on the ground with the players. Previously the 2 Singles and Doubles Head coaches are pressured to achieve immediate results all the time and tend to focus on the few senior men players to achieve these immediate results. With the formation of the Women and Back-up squads, they will now have a Head coach each to pay more attention on them and to make long term plans towards their development. The new structure will put emphasis on both short term targets and long terms targets. I personally hope that this structure will bring immediate success in 2011 World Championships and 2012 Olympics while the Back-up squad players will be groomed well to achieve success after 2012, i.e. at the following years’ World Championships, 2014 Asian Games and 2016 Olympics and so on.

JY : If u look at our backup players, it's worrying because at this point no-one seem to be performing consistently enough to show that they can take over the elite players, what is BAM doing to tackle this issue?

NCC : As I have said earlier, the new structure now gives the Back-up Squads greater emphasis. We have appointed coaches with great credentials i.e. Hendrawan as the Back-up Squad Singles’ coach and Tan Kim Her as the Back-up Squad Doubles’ coach to take charge of the Back-up Squad players. Both are knowledgeable, dedicated and disciplinarian and I believe they will be able to groom the Back-up Squad players well. BAM are increasing funding for the Back-up Squads where we are sending the Back-up Squad players out for more international tournaments next year. We are also paying them higher monthly allowance and better incentives for performing well at international tournaments. The structure is in place, it is now time to implement the plan and we hope to see success after 2012.

JY : Our players fall short in major championships and lack the consistency, why do you think so?

NCC : What you say is true. For the next 2 years, we are making careful periodization plans for Lee Chong Wei and Koo Kean Keat/Tan Boon Heong to peak at 2011 World Championships and 2012 Olympics. They will participate is less tournaments and focus on major events only. Actually Chong Wei is quite consistent recently but with age catching up, he is succumbing to some minor injuries which is affecting his performance in some tournaments. However I readily admit that Lin Dan is superior to Chong Wei in terms of speed and power, therefore if both players play at their best, Lin Dan will come out top. As for the Men Doubles, there are about 6 pairs in the world that is equal and they can all beat each other. No pair is certain of victory at the moment. Notwithstanding the foregoing statement, BAM is committed to prepare the players technically, physically and mentally to achieve success at the major tournaments in the coming years.    

JY : What's your immediate goal in this position (BAM)?

NCC : Firstly to the strengthen BAM’s administration and finance and then to steer our national team to achieve success at Asian and World level tournaments. I am targeting  Malaysian badminton to win the gold medal at the 2011 World Championships and 2012 Olympics.

JY : Aspirations for msian badminton or msian sports? 

NCC : I hope that there will be more people involved in sports especially badminton. Sports generate healthy body and mind; and brings people together transcending racial, religious and political barriers. Sporting success is a numbers game; more people playing, more frequent playing and more events participation will definitely bring more success internationally for any sports. Therefore I hope that the 1 sports 1 student policy will be implemented seriously and will be carried forward to our society at large by having more venues, facilities and benefits for greater participation in sports.        

JY : You're a lawyer by profession, how do you juggle between your day job and your commitments in BAM?

NCC : To me it is priority and sacrifice. No matter how much I love badminton, my family comes first, then my profession and then badminton. Due to my deep involvement with badminton, I know that I have to sacrifice by working longer hours compared to other people. I go to my Seremban law firm office early in the morning, and then about 3 times a week at mid morning I go to BAM’s office in KL. Other than that I also have to travel to different places for BAM related meetings and events. Since I took up the position in BAM, I’ve employed 3 additional staff in my office to ensure that that the quality and service of my law firm’s work do not suffer. I am also thankful to technology such as internet and mobile communication which have enabled me to multi-task, spend less time to produce more work, and to communicate on the move to juggle family, work and badminton.         

JY : Do you think children today are encouraged to take up sports as much as they are encouraged to do well in academics? what's your advise to parents and children who are contemplating taking up badminton as a career?

NCC : Definitely not! Save for the elite few, generally it does not pay well (financially) to take up sports compared to academics. Chances of aspiring students to earn a living from sporting achievements are slim compared to earning a living from their academic achievements. Chances of success is higher in academics than in sports e.g. thousands of students scoring full As in the public examinations as compared to only a few hundred national champions in all sports competitions of MSSM.

However nowadays taking up badminton as a career is worthwhile. Presently a national badminton player can earn anything from RM2,000.00 to RM200,000 a month from just playing badminton. However the playing lifespan is short, from 5-10 years only. However when most badminton players stop playing, they go on to be involved with badminton related works, such as coaching, managing badminton halls/clubs, doing badminton equipments business, sports equipments sales, administration of sports etc. And a lot of them are earning a comfortable living. 

For parents who believe that their children have the talent in badminton, it is worthwhile to guide their children towards a career in badminton. Sporting achievement is very gratifying and is much harder to achieve than academic achievement. For sportsmen who are at the cross-road and don’t know whether to choose sports or education, be advised that studies can wait but sports cannot wait. You can try to pursue sports first and education later.

JY : Any last words? 

NCC : I believe that giving is more satisfying than receiving. People should give and share more and the society will be a much better place to live in.

Thank you!

Pity the Fool !

Sigh! Where do I begin? Another so-called sports official making ridiculous and ludicrous remarks again. This time it's on a local produced sports talk television show. This person from FAM was interviewed about Malaysian football and their performance in the ongoing AFF Suzuki Cup. I could see in his face that after the win over Vietnam a few days ago in the National Stadium, he was buzzing with pride & joy. Like him, the rest of the nation was proud of the Malaysian boys for getting this far. Then came the remarks which got me choking on my dinner. Here's the 3 things he mentioned when quizzed about the future of Malaysian football : -

1. Malaysia will be a powerhouse in football not just in South East Asia but also in ASIA in 2 years. Mind you, the last time I checked , countries like Australia, Japan, Korea and the middle-eastern countries are still part of Asia and some of these teams have played on the largest platform - The World Cup. Not to be nay-sayer but to achieve such feat requires proper development channels and a strong league NOW especially if you want to achieve this in 2 years. 

2. FAM will consider those players playing abroad (i.e. Titus, Brendan Gan,etc) in team selection. But final say will depend on the coach eventhough these players are playing for top clubs in Europe. Err...I do agree that the coach will have the final say but surely if they're good enough to play for top clubs outside Msia, they should be given serious consideration if not an automatic place in the squad? 

3. This official boldly said that one of the players in the national squad at this moment is good enough to play for ANY clubs in Europe. For me , this one definitely bring back the bacon ! 

It's just a pity that sometimes in Malaysian sports, the players are trying their hardest on the pitch but these so-called officials make them look bad or stupid. 

For the sake of sports in the nation, "officials" please think before you speak especially when you know everyone will be watching you or reading it from the media the next day. Do us a favour & stop making a fool out of Malaysian Sports!

THE UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE – SPORTS

“This rugby is a political calculation...no, it’s a Human calculation” this was what Nelson Mandela said when he architected South Africa’s famous victory in the 1995 Rugby World Cup. The infamous victory sparked by Mandela’s vision proved everyone wrong, when no one gave them a chance. “According to the experts, we'll reach the quarter-finals, and no further...According to the experts, you and I should still be in jail!” Mandela, replied. Not only did South Africa beat all odds to win the rugby world cup but more importantly unite the nation which has been beleaguered by the apartheid system.

Dato’ Razali Ibrahim, the Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports speaking at the official opening of the Muar Malay Badminton Championship 2009 called on Malaysians to emphasize more on sports development so that it could help to foster better unity ties among the people because sports in every level has been able to bring Malaysians together throughout history.  

“There was no racial borders in sports where different races joined hands to form teams to compete” he said. This holds true when we recently experienced the Thomas & Uber Cup 2010 held in Kuala Lumpur. Waves of Malaysians, irrespective of race and colour wrapped in Jalur Gemilang throng the Putra stadium with one purpose – to support the Malaysian team.  

Sports is a universal language spoken by almost everyone in the world. Regardless of what language you grew up speaking, the World Cup or the Olympics resonates immediately to anyone in any part of the world. Sports speaks all languages. Whether you’re walking through the streets of Africa , China or Paris, the direction to the stadium is a simple hand gesture away.

Sports teaches us important and fundamental life skills. Sports is not merely just a physical activity whereby you have a good sweat but also a tool to shape our lives. Values like teamwork, sportsmanship, and responsibility are the essence to everyday lives just like sports.

One thing that sports does so well over and over again is to unite divided nations. War torn nations like Iraq and South Africa have proved to the world that despite their problems at home, they’re able to unite as a team and nation. Iraq won the football Asian Cup in 2007 and South Africa the 1995 Rugby World Cup.

The beauty of sports is its tendency to bring out the best in everyone and spring unexpected result. Just ask the likes of North Korea who played their first World Cup in 44 years last June or the Korean team who demolished the mighty great wall of China in the recent concluded Uber Cup. The list is endless.

On a closing note, schools are the best way to instil sports amongst the young. It’s sad to see many school fields being replaced by new school blocks or computer labs today. The recent announcement by the Deputy Prime Minster, Tan Sri Muhyiddin to put emphasize on sports in school is a welcome and long overdue news. The 1 Student 1 Sport program will hopefully help students and parents see the importance of an all round education system. The challenge now is creating the awareness. 

Get off your cosy chair...Your time is UP !

Rotten apples of Malaysian Sports

Office bearers in sports associations should recognize when their services are no longer needed. A lot has been said about the reformation of Malaysian sports on the field (i.e. need a foreign coach, need better facilities, more overseas training, etc) but few is mentioned about the reformation of the people who have been helming the offices. Unfortunately, some of them have been holding on to their position for upteenth years without bearing fruits. It's hard to fault those who think they're merely there for the benefits. Imagine the perks of attending all the major sporting events and "study" tour. Whilst it's true that sports is an expensive game, this is more the reason why money should be allocated properly and more importantly who is spending it. Which come back to the point, have a proper evaluation system in place to gauge non-performing officials or office bearers. And stick to it! 


In the words of one respected sports figure - "The majority of our sports leaders are veterans and have been at the helm for many years. Some of them protect their position through unhealthy means to prevent others from coming in. Funds from government to help a sport in some cases fortify these leaders positions further" . Read more about his thoughts at http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/62mazlan/Article


Responsibility don't seem to ring any bells in these officials ear. Not too long ago, a high ranking official in an association boldly stated he will quit if the team did not bring back gold and when they failed , he sings a different tune. Until today, there's no news of him leaving office. This is truly sad, and it's not the only time it has happened to Malaysian Sports. What ever happened to integrity and values? Do these guys even have the slightest idea about sports in the very first place? Highly doubt so because sports teaches one values and discipline which is severely lacking in many of these guys. 


Having said that, KUDOS to those who sincerely and selflessly contribute to the good of the game. These are the back bone of Malaysian Sports and credit is not given enough to them. These are the people who knows what sports mean and will fight for what's right. Keep up the good work and don't let a few rotten apples ruin the name of the game ! 


Majulah Sukan Untuk Negara...

The unofficial site...

The Malaysian Hockey League Division 1 is underway and the big boys will take the pitch when the Premier Division starts in 2 weeks time. For the latest results and updates on MHL, please visit the unofficial site - http://www.tnbmhl.com.my/ .

Snapshot of site

The person behind the website is Mr. Satwant Singh who is an avid hockey and sports fan. To read more about his thoughts on sports visit http://www.ssdhaliwal.blogspot.com

A Mauling

The tigers were taught a lesson in football at the opening match of the AFF Suzuki Cup 2010. The final score reads 5-1 to Indonesia and could have been more to the home side. Straight from the Asian Games where they got praised by progressing to the second round, this strikes. And strike it did ! Perhaps this will provide FAM a clear picture of how strong this squad really is. All the hype about this young team and its potential remains to be seen and from what we have seen lately, it's another false dawn. Humiliated and ridiculed by the Indonesians -The match against Laos will be a dreaded affair.

fearing the worst

NS back in the League

Yayasan Negeri Sembilan will be making a comeback in the upcoming MHL beginning Dec 17th. The team who used to be force to be reckon with in the mid-90's being double champions twice will be targeting a top 4 finish in the Premier League which boast the likes KLHC (defending league champions), TNB (defending overall champions), Maybank, and Sapura. And they will doing this by fielding a group of players who represented the state in the Razak Cup and Sukma . I guess it's good exposure for the team without the service of any national players but let's hope they've not set the bar too high.

"Zhai Jian" Guangzhou..."Annyeonghaseyo Incheon" !

As the 16th Asian Games come to a close, China once again set the bar very high for hosting world class sporting events. After the Beijing Olympics games, Guangzhou will prove to be tough act to follow for Icheon. Just like how London is beginning to realise how tough is it to compete with the extravagance of the Beijing Games.

For Malaysia, achieving the target of 9 gold medals is an excellent achievement considering that at one stage it looked impossible. In fact, we could even surpass the targeted number if not for some shortcomings Reflecting on the Malaysian contingent performance at the games, there's plenty of high points worth mentioning and also some not so high points.

Special praise should be given to those who contributed medals especially gold. Kicking off the gold trail is wushu queen Chai Fong Ying who followed up with her gold medal feat at the Doha games. Cyclist Azizul Hasni Awang won the gold in cycling keirin hands down and deservingly so, after being disqualified controversially at the Commonwealth Games. It was also Malaysia first gold in cycling in 40 years! Squash contributed three golds through our darling Nicol, pleasant surprise Azlan and the gutsy ladies team. R.Puvaneswaran & Ku Jin Keat said goodbye to the karate sport by contributing a gold each. Not very often the guys from the bowling team eclipsed the ladies but this time Alex Liew + Adrian Ang (men's double) and one personally from Alex ; contributed 2 golds in bowling.

You've made us proud

Despite losing to Pakistan in the men hockey finals, the Malaysian hockey team won over many critics by reaching their first ever final. Losing to Pakistan and missing out on a ticket to the 2012 Olympics is disappointing and one could say the team did not show up when it matters most (and possibility a bad hair day) but the determination and passion displayed by the team is something to be proud of for all Malaysians. The spirit of 1Malaysia was clearly displayed for all to see especially after the final whistle blew in the win over India. Seeing the coaches, officials and players from all races hug and brace each other is a win for all Malaysians.

Bright future

I should also mention the diving team and the women beach volleyball team who defied the odds to contribute us medals. In diving, we have some really talented divers which may just put us on the podium in the Olympics.

Now on to the not so high points. Losing to Thailand in the badminton team event is worrying and almost unthinkable. It's not so much the fact that Lee Chong Wei lost in the first singles (due to illness) but the lack of fight from the "backup" players. Sure they may be young and inexperience but surely not to the extent of losing to the Thais? The fact that the coaches put them in the team because they have faith in them proved that they have the potential.

And then there is Sepak Takraw. Not only did they bring back veterans who looked out of sorts but also they have the audacity of predicting a gold medal, failing which the president boldly (and arrogantly) said he will quit (at press time, he's still in office) . Don't get me wrong, it's ok to predict a gold but predicting and giving false hope to everyone because of naivety clearly showed that you're not aware of your team and your rivals. Watching the game; at times, I'd thought the Malaysians were more interested to entertain themselves by dancing around everytime they won a point. Although it's part of the game, but perhaps a little bit of humility knowing you're not the strongest team around?

I'm going to end this with football. This is a tough one to call. Many will argue that without the 3 red cards awarded by the referee during the match against China, it could turn out quite differently. Honestly , I don't think we will beat China even with 11 men on the field. The boys played well and showed great fight in earlier games despite the injuries to key players before the games but Malaysian football is a tricky one to call. You'll never know which team will turn up and considering the amount of money being poured into the sports, many will expect more. Not in terms of winning all major tournaments but a sense of direction and pride in Malaysian football.

Now on to Incheon, South Korea. Hopefully we'll see more gold medals and new faces stepping up =)

Inspirational Win !

For the 1st time in Malaysian hockey history, we have reached the finals of the Asian Games 2010. Beating India in extra time (final score 4-3), one of the favourites for the gold after holding another hockey giant Korea in the group match, is a feat worthy of any celebration. Watching the team worked so hard for each other and being rewarded at the end is indeed priceless. Results matters in any competitions but what's more encouraging and touching is the commitment and gutsy performance produced by every players on the team (something which is missing in Malaysians sports at times). Of course not forgetting the coaches & officials who supported behind the scenes. They are the rock of the team.

Tonight the team worked like a well-oil machine running with the fuel of passion. Keep it up. Pakistan awaits.

Malaysians for Sports Activated !

Hello All! Welcome to this blog started with an intent to bring Malaysians together through sports. This is a platform whereby sports fans discuss about sports - the good and the not so encouraging. We love Malaysian Sports but we keep it REAL. Majulah sukan untuk negara !