KUALA LUMPUR – The recent setback faced by the women’s squad at the Uber Cup in Chengdu, China, not only underscores the developmental challenges within the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) but also the concerning state of women’s sports at the grassroots level.
According to national women’s badminton coach K. Yogendran, one of the reasons why opponents, particularly those from Southeast Asia, outshine Malaysian players is the limited pool of talent available for national selection.
The national women’s squad concluded their Uber Cup campaign with a 5-0 defeat to Thailand, followed by a 1-4 loss to Chinese Taipei.
Despite a 4-1 victory over Australia in their final Group B match, Malaysia has already been eliminated from the tournament.
Adding to the concern, despite Malaysia’s standing as a global powerhouse in badminton, the women’s squad has yet to progress beyond the quarter-finals of the Uber Cup since its inception in 1957.
“Why are women’s singles players from other countries better than those from Malaysia? Because they have a larger talent pool. In Malaysia, we are severely lacking in that aspect.
“Other countries don’t rely solely on the national team; they also have clubs that send their players to tournaments.
“We hope that in Malaysia, especially at the state and club levels, they can support us in finding more female players and sending them to international tournaments,” said Yogendran.
The malaise afflicting the national women’s badminton camp has long extended to other sports in Malaysia, leading to several events that were supposed to be contested at the Sarawak Malaysia Games (Sukma) in August being scrapped, such as the women’s 10m platform diving and women’s futsal.
National diving queen Datuk Pandelela Rinong has voiced her concern over this issue, fearing a lack of replacements to fill the void if the shortage of athletes persists, leading to events being dropped from Sukma.
It is also concerning to note that states like the Federal Territories, despite participating in all 37 sporting events in Sarawak, have opted to send representatives only for men’s events due to a shortage of female athletes.
As a result, Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh urges all parties, especially national associations and state sports councils, to play a more proactive role in balancing sports development involving both male and female athletes in their respective states.
“I chaired the Sukma Supreme Committee last Tuesday, and in that meeting, we observed some sports activities being dropped due to insufficient participation.
“When we look at participation rates, we see that there aren’t enough female athletes, possibly due to more investment in male teams.
“That’s why I’ve asked all sports association leaders and state sports councils to ensure, in their spending and planning that they can’t, I won’t use the term ‘neglect’, but they shouldn’t focus too much on men’s teams alone in terms of budget, training, and expertise.
“So, that’s why we want women in sports to receive focus and highlights,” said Hannah. – May 2, 2024