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19th August, 2008
KUALA LUMPUR: Fifty years and 13 Olympic Games later, Malaysia is still waiting for that elusive gold medal from the quadrennial international multi-sport event, having narrowly missed the gold in the men’s singles badminton in Beijing on Sunday.
National shuttler Lee Chong Wei went down tamely 12-21, 8-21 to China’s Lin Dan in the final match, and let slip the gold medal as well as the RM1-million gold-medal incentive he would have earned with a victory.
He settled for RM300,000 and a RM3,000 monthly pension for clinching the silver, bringing much disappointment to Malaysian badminton fans who had put aside all chores to be glued to their television sets hoping to be surprised.
The golden dream was dashed, and the promise of a gold medal from badminton by Malaysian Badminton Association (BAM) president Datuk Mohd Nadzmi Salleh remains unfulfilled.
It took some time to accept Chong Wei’s defeat, especially after the World No. 2 had progressed with great determination up to the final. He trounced Ronald Susilo of Singapore 21-13, 21-14 in the preliminary round, made short work of Kestutis Naviskas of Lithuania 21-5, 21-7 in the third round and turned the tables against Indonesia’s Sony Dwi Kuncoro 21-9, 21-11 in the quarterfinals.
He sent Malaysians into ecstasy with his scintillating display when he stretched South Korea’s Lee Hyun Il 21-18, 13-21, 21-13 to set up the showdown with No. 1 seed Lin Dan.
Although Malaysian athletes are taking part in several more events, the country had banked on badminton for a gold medal.
Since Malaysia’s debut in the Olympics in Melbourne in 1956, the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) regarded the 33 Beijing Games athletes as the greatest Malaysian Olympics contingent ever, with badminton, archery, cycling and taekwondo having the potential to produce medal winners.
After competing in 13 Olympics and sending 413 athletes, Malaysia has so far managed to bag just six medals—all of them from badminton, including a silver from Chong Wei.
In 1992, brothers Razif and Jalani Sidek clinched a bronze in Barcelona. In 1996, Cheah Soon Kit and Yap Kim Hock—now national head coach—got a silver in Atlanta, and Rashid Sidek added a single’s bronze.
After Atlanta, Malaysia hit a medal drought until Sunday.
Malaysia’s dream of winning a gold medal will have to wait until the London Olympics in 2012.
Is Malaysia banking its hope on badminton again? In 2012, Chong Wei will be 30 and second singles player Wong Choon Han will be 31. Wong had said that Beijing would be his last Olympics.
As for third singles player Muhd Hafiz Hashim, 26, he has not broken his jinx after winning the All England title in 2003.
As age is also catching up with the veteran doubles pair of Chong Tan Fook and Lee Wan Wah, who are already 34 and 35, respectively, Malaysia have to turn to the newcomers.
We have to polish the second liners, namely Koo Kien Keat, 23, and Tan Boon Heong, 21, as well as Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari and Mohd Zakry Abdul Latiff, both 25.
They are Malaysia’s medal hopes in London as the single second liners have yet to shine.
Four years is not a long time to put together formidable world beaters as stalwarts like Chong Wei and Choon Han have come a long way.
For the record, Chong Wei lost in the third round in his Olympics debut in Athens in 2004 while Choon Han had not lifted any medal in his three Olympics outings since Sydney 2000.
With high expectation from badminton to deliver the first Olympics gold for Malaysia, BAM has to take proactive measures to produce world beaters like Lin Dan or a least players of Chong Wei’s stature in four years’ time.
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