KUALA LUMPUR – In the realm of Malaysian sports in 2023, several triumphs and challenges unfolded, showcasing a diverse array of achievements and setbacks.
From the prestigious induction of badminton legend Datuk Lee Chong Wei into the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Hall of Fame to Harimau Malaya’s stellar start in the World Cup qualifying campaign, the sporting landscape witnessed moments of glory.
However, amidst the victories, there were instances of unmet expectations.
Scoop delves into the highs and lows that defined Malaysia’s sporting narrative in the past year.
The Good:
Hall of Famer Datuk Lee Chong Wei
Malaysia’s badminton great Datuk Lee Chong Wei was inducted into the Badminton World Federation Hall of Fame alongside longtime rival China’s Lin Dan.
Chong Wei said his 20-year rivalry with Lin Dan kept him motivated to achieve greatness in the sport.
Datuk Azizulhasni Awang’s double gold
The Pocket Rocketman set the National Velodrome ablaze with a stunning performance at the Asian Track Cycling Championships in Nilai.
He took his overall gold tally to 12 after winning the sprint and keirin races to cement his place as one of the all-time greats of Asian track cycling.
Sprinters set the track ablaze in Hangzhou
Azeem Fahmi and Shereen Samson Vallabouy ended long droughts at the Asian Games track events.
Azeem ended a 41-year drought by winning bronze in the 100m sprint, and Shereen matched him in the 400m, ending a 17-year wait.
Perfect 10 from Johor Darul Ta’zim
A 4-0 win over PDRM FC in September saw JDT win its 10th Super League crown in a row.
With one more league game to go this season, they have a 15-point lead over Selangor FC in second place.
For the record, JDT also secured the FA Cup and the Malaysia Cup, this is the second season in a row that the club has achieved this feat.
Weight of Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik’s shoulders
For the longest time, Aaron-Wooi Yik has been hunting for a World Tour title.
Previously, they have medalled in the World Championships, Olympic, Commonwealth and Asian Games.
But at the October Denmark Open, the country’s number one pair broke their duck by defeating Indonesian pair Muhammad Shohibul Fikri-Bagas Maulana 21-13, 21-17 at the Jyske Bank Arena in Odense in 32 minutes.
Harimau Malaya’s perfect start
Malaysia kicked off its 2026 World Cup/2027 Asian Cup qualifying campaign with a stunning 4-3 comeback win against 97th-ranked Kyrgyzstan.
They then backed that up with a 1-0 win against Taiwan to collect a perfect six points from its first two games. Malaysia is currently top of Group D with a three-point lead over second-place Oman.
Harimau Malaya’s next game will be an away fixture against the Gulf nation in March.
The Bad:
Missing the mark in Cambodia SEA Games
Malaysia set off for the Cambodia SEA Games with a 40 gold medal target, but when the dust settled, the contingent could only bring home 34.
Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh was defiant in saying she will not resign for banking on young athletes and disagreed with some quarters labelling it Malaysia’s worst performance at the biennial multisports event, quoting stats to prop up Malaysia’s performance.
ABM’s Michelle Chai resigns, Tim Jones sacked
Malaysia’s women’s team, composed of young players, was eliminated in the quarter-finals going down 3-0 to an unheralded Philippines team at the Cambodia SEA Games.
This led to Akademi Badminton Malaysia chief executive officer Michelle Chai announcing her resignation and the dismissal of high-performance director Tim Jones.
However, Michelle was later redesignated as the Badminton Association of Malaysia’s administrative director.
Azizulhasni withdraws from Asian Games
A week away from the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games was about to start, gold medal hopeful, the Pocket Rocketman was involved in a high-speed crash in training.
A tyre failure was deemed to be the culprit of the crash and the result is the 35-year-old suffering bone, muscle contusions and soft tissue damage.
This forced him to skip the Asiad and his replacement Shah Firdaus Sharom brought home two bronze medals.
LTdL gets dropped from the UCI calendar
Due to unpaid fees to teams from last year’s edition of the ProSeries race amounting to RM2 million, the race was removed from the International Cycling Union’s international calendar in July.
The fees went unpaid by previous organisers however, they ended up clearing the debt and the race was able to be successfully held in September.
The Ugly:
Pitch troubles at the National Stadium
The National Stadium in Bukit Jalil received a generous donation from Johor Crown Prince Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim worth RM1.5 million to refurbish the pitch with Zeon Zoysia grass, a superior alternative to the commonly found cow grass, or Axonopus Compressus, in Malaysian stadiums.
However, during the Pestabola Merdeka tournament in October, the pitch started to cut up and was in bad condition by the time it ended.
Maintenance work was carried out for it to be ready for a World Cup qualifying game against Kyrgyzstan in November and fortunately, it held up for that game.
But a Coldplay concert a few days later damaged the pitch and the Malaysian Stadium Corporation could not get it up to optimum levels for the Malaysia Cup final recently and had to issue an apology.
Spate of referee assaults
It seems like referee abuse at amateur and professional levels is becoming the norm in Malaysian football.
A referee in an amateur futsal game was attacked with a knee to the back in a KL Futsal League match.
In another amateur game in the Jerantut FA Cup, an unidentified individual, not wearing a team jersey, entered the field and physically attacked the match referee.
Meanwhile, Selangor FC player Yazan Al-Arab kicked a referee after receiving a red card in a Piala Malaysia match against Terengganu.
The player’s contract was terminated by Selangor and he was later issued a lifetime ban from participating in football activities in the country by the Football Association of Malaysia. – December 31, 2023