KUALA LUMPUR – Could the Malaysian badminton squad be heeding the advice of chef de mission Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin, focusing on practising self-control when using social media during their Olympic campaign?
While it remains uncertain whether this is a collective strategy to avoid distractions and cyberbullying or merely coincidental, the players appear to have significantly reduced their social media activity.
Interestingly, there have been no formal directives from the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) or its coaches regarding social media usage.
BAM coaching director Rexy Mainaky admitted to Scoop that he is not closely monitoring the players’ online activity, as he is not particularly active on social media himself.
“Honestly, I don’t know, because I’m not exactly a social media person. So, I can’t say for sure if the players have reduced or limited their usage for the Olympics.
“What I can share is that our chef de mission was with us for a few days and talked to players about practising self-control with social media.
“Apart from that, there was no directive from us. I mean, we treat all our players as adults here.
“If they decided to do something like this for themselves, then good on them,” said Rexy when contacted.
As the badminton players prepare for the Paris Olympics, three national pairs – former men’s doubles world champions Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, women’s doubles Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah, and mixed doubles duo Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei – have been in France since July 14.
They completed a week-long training camp in Aire-sur-la-Lys before moving to Paris.
Independent players, including world number seven men’s singles player Lee Zii Jia and two-time former world junior champion Goh Jin Wei, arrived in Paris on July 21 and July 23, respectively.
Last week, Scoop highlighted how Malaysian athletes could benefit from the approach taken by the England national football team, which has successfully managed social media usage during major events.
Apart from sharing a few photos from their time on the court at the Porte de la Chapelle Arena, the badminton players have kept a low profile on social media.
The Paris Olympics will commence with the opening ceremony tomorrow, and the badminton competition will begin a day later. – July 25, 2024