KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia’s top national shuttlers are under heavy scrutiny after a dismal showing at the Super 1000 All England, leaving Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) acting president Datuk V. Subramaniam fuming.
Despite world-class coaching, top-tier facilities, and substantial salaries, most Malaysian players crashed out early, raising serious concerns ahead of upcoming major tournaments.
The country’s interest in Birmingham ended in the quarter-finals on Friday, with only national women’s doubles duo Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah as well as independent mixed doubles pair Goh Soon Huat and Shevon Lai making it that far.
Notably, Malaysia had six men’s doubles pairs in the draw, yet despite all the hype, only one independent pair – World No. 2 Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin Rumsani – reached the second round, while the rest fell at the first hurdle.
Among the biggest disappointments were former men’s doubles world champions Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik, alongside top mixed doubles duo Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei. Their early exits, despite being among Malaysia’s highest-paid athletes, did not sit well with Subramaniam.
“Apart from Pearly and Thinaah, who fought hard despite an injury setback, the performances of the rest are questionable,” he told Scoop.
“Particularly our top men’s doubles Aaron and Wooi Yik, and also the mixed doubles Tang Jie and Ee Wei.”
After also crashing out in the opening round of the Orleans Masters in France a week prior, Aaron and Wooi Yik lost to Denmark’s Rasmus Kjaer and Frederik Sogaard, while Tang Jie and Ee Wei were sent packing by Indonesia’s Rehan Naufal Kusharjanto and Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja.
Malaysia’s struggles at the All England come just weeks after the national squad’s failure at the Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championships (BAMTC) in Qingdao, China, where they failed to qualify for the knockout stage for the first time in the history of the competition.
Following that disappointment, Subramaniam held talks with the national coaches, where it emerged that many players struggle under pressure due to fear of being dropped.
As a result, BAM has sought the help of the National Sports Institute (NSI) to bring in a dedicated mental health specialist for the national squad.
However, with some of Malaysia’s top shuttlers reportedly earning up to RM2 million annually, patience is running thin when results do not match expectations.
The current national coaching setup includes big names such as Olympic and world champion Rexy Mainaky as coaching director, Indonesian men’s doubles legend Herry Iman Pierngadi, European singles specialist Kenneth Jonassen, women’s doubles coach Rosman Razak, and former mixed doubles world champion Nova Widianto. Yet, performances continue to fall short.
Subramaniam confirmed that the top players would skip the upcoming Swiss Open to return home for immediate review. “We (BAM) will definitely look into this,” he said.
With the Asian Championships and Sudirman Cup looming next month, BAM faces a race against time to address the team’s shortcomings. – March 15, 2025