KUALA LUMPUR: Former national badminton champion Datuk Lee Chong Wei (pic) has advised the national badminton squad to not be disheartened by their performance following their Badminton Asian Mixed Team Championship (BAMTC) quarterfinal exit in the United Arab Emirates yesterday.
Instead of dwelling on their 2-3 loss to defending champions China, he suggested that they should shift their attention to the Sudirman Cup in Suzhou, China this May.
“The Badmintion Association of Malaysia (BAM) needs to have a discussion about team events and prepare well to ensure the team reaches the final,” he said when met recently.
The team needed to find their winning rhythm so that their confidence would turn into fighting spirit that they can use at the upcoming championship.
“I made my comeback during the Sudirman Cup in China previously, where I forced myself to not lose a single match. That’s how I restored my confidence.
“Training and competing are different as your opponents are different. This is important in an athlete’s career,” Chong Wei said.
Malaysia’s loss at the BAMTC is unsurprising as it is the third quarterfinal loss in the country’s history of participating in the championship, having lost previously in 2017 in Hanoi, Vietnam and in 2019 in Hong Kong.
The 2021 edition in Wuhan, China was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Malaysia had qualified for the quarterfinals after ending the group stage as Group B runners-up after losing to India 1-4 on Thursday. The team had notched two 5-0 victories against hosts UAE and Kazakhstan earlier. - Bernama