KUALA LUMPUR — The National Sports Council (NSC) has reiterated that the development of national para-shuttlers for the future of the sport should be a joint responsibility of all the governing bodies involved.
Speaking to Scoop, NSC acting director general, Abdul Rashid Yaakub, said that there is no use in pointing fingers as all parties should work together for the betterment of para-badminton.
“Para-badminton has gained significant popularity in recent years, and Malaysia has produced some exceptional para-shuttlers who have brought pride to the nation on international platforms.
“We at NSC are aware that we are lacking para-shuttlers to play the sport in the years to come, and we have to acknowledge the fact that all parties have to work together for the betterment of the sport.
“The Malaysia Paralympic Council (MPC), Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM), and NSC should work together to achieve this, and I am totally against BAM’s statement that we are entirely responsible for scouting and developing para-shuttlers,” said Abdul Rashid.
Abdul Rashid also said that NSC will discuss with MPC after the ongoing Para-Asian Games to solve this issue.
“We at NSC will be discussing with the Paralympic Council soon, and we will devise a solution for them to have more para-shuttlers like Cheah Liek Hou in their camp so that they can send more athletes for tournaments.
“However, we will not only stop with para-badminton, and we will also come up with plans to produce more para-athletes in all para-sports,” added Abdul Rashid.
Cheah became the first Malaysian to win a badminton gold at an Olympic-level tournament after emerging triumphant in the men’s singles SU5 at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.
On the other hand, able-bodied athletes have not achieved any gold medals in badminton at the Olympics.
Earlier, MPC president Datuk Seri Megat Shariman told Scoop that BAM needs to ‘wake up’ and help develop more para-badminton players as he felt no attention was given by the national badminton body towards the para-athletes compared to the able-bodied athletes.
However, BAM hit back, stating that developing para-badminton players does not come under their purview as they only function as the governing body for para shuttlers.
They argued that it was the responsibility of the NSC to develop para-athletes.
Cheah, recently honoured with the Best Para-Athlete award at the SAM-100Plus awards in August has claimed a total of six medals – four gold and two bronze – in both the men’s singles and doubles categories since his debut at the Para-Asian Games in 2010.
Malaysia has set a cumulative target of 35 medals for the Asian Para Games scheduled to take place in Hangzhou, China, from October 22-28, without specifying any colour.
The Malaysian contingent will consist of 113 athletes and 63 officials participating in 104 out of the 564 sports events.
A total of 54 athletes will be competing for the first time at the Games. — October 24, 2023.