KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 13 — Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) has admitted players under its auspices who competed in the Paris 2024 Olympics did not meet the gold medal target.
BAM secretary-general Datuk Kenny Goh said however he would not make excuses for the achievement and wants to move on, to focus on improving national players’ future performances.
“We failed to hit the target but badminton is still a sport that gives medals to the contingent in almost every Olympics. Maybe some say it’s just bronze but it’s not easy. I thank you for the support.
“So I don’t want to give excuses for putting this thing behind us and making improvements,” he told reporters in a press conference today.
At the Paris Olympics, the only medallists under BAM’s auspices were men’s doubles pair Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik, who took bronze. Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah (women’s doubles) and Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei (mixed doubles) advanced to the bronze decider and quarter finals, respectively.
Meanwhile, Akademi Badminton Malaysia coaching director Rexy Mainaky said he has mixed feelings about his charges’ performance at the Games.
He said BAM players did not completely fail as they managed to show improvement.
“The mixed feeling is because I am unhappy we failed to bring home the gold medal, but I am happy with the performance of the players.
“They almost won gold. I hope after this there will be no more word ‘almost’,” he said.
— Bernama
