KUALA LUMPUR – The pressure of fulfilling the hopes of Malaysia’s 33 million people to bring home a medal, particularly the first gold from the Paris Olympic Games, is no small feat, especially for the national badminton squad, often seen as a beacon of hope in the world’s largest sporting event.
Akademi Badminton Malaysia coaching director Rexy Mainaky understands this challenge well.
This will be his second Olympic Games with the national squad after Beijing 2008, where he previously coached Tan Boon Heong and Koo Kien Keat before stepping down in 2012.
Returning to serve the Badminton Association of Malaysia after nine years, he acknowledges the need to control his emotions, given his current role and greater responsibility in ensuring the national squad performs exceptionally well in Paris.
The men’s doubles pair, Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik, are among the key hopes to secure medals for the country based on their current performances.
Therefore, Rexy understands that if the national squad fails to deliver the expected results, he will be the first person held accountable by all parties involved.
“If you ask me, I don’t feel any pressure. If we win a medal, everyone’s happy; if we don’t, I’m the one who gets scolded.
“Sure, the pressure is different, but as the leader, I can’t show it because it affects the whole team. So, I have to control myself.
“We can say anything right now, but it’s only on the actual competition day that we can truly see the players’ real situation through their body language and movements, and that’s what we’ll witness,” said Rexy.
In addition to Aaron and Wooi Yik, two other players under his wing are the women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah and the mixed doubles duo Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei.
Two other professional players, Lee Zii Jia and Goh Jin Wei, will complete Malaysia’s badminton squad in Paris.
Since badminton was introduced to the Olympic Games in 1992 in Barcelona, Malaysia has excelled in bringing home medals in almost every edition except for 2000 in Melbourne and Athens in 2004.
The most successful outing was during the 2016 edition in Rio de Janeiro, where the badminton squad harvested three silver medals through Datuk Lee Chong Wei (men’s singles), Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying (mixed doubles), and Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong (men’s doubles). – July 10, 2024