KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 11 – A 5-0 whitewash at the hands of the all-powerful and 14-time champions China in the wake of the 4-1 defeat to Denmark in the first match has ended Malaysia’s hopes of a place in the knockout stage in the Uber Cup women’s team championships in Aarhus, Denmark.
The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM), however, deserves a pat on the back and mention for the national body’s bold decision to send a young and untested team to Aarhus.
The exposure and experience of playing against the giants of the game at the world stage will stand in good stead in time to come.
Playing against world class players and ranked higher in the rankings, is simply described in as “priceless” for the young Malaysians.
Some are playing their first ever high level tournament. Their debut, both in the Uber Cup and the Sudirman Cup (mixed team), has opened the eyes of many although, as usual, a politician, used it in a bid to gain political mileage. Instead, he earned the wrath of the people, although some on jumped on the bandwagon for political mileage.
Putting that aside, S.Kisona, Pearly Tan, M. Thinaah, Siti Nurshuhaini Azman, K. Letshanaa drove home a strong performance message that Malaysia can count on them as the future stars to keep the Malaysian flag flying.
Malaysia face Canada in their final Group D match in the Uber Cup at the Ceres Arena on Monday (today) (1am, Tuesday in Malaysia due to the time difference).
National women’s singles head coach Indra Wijaya is disheartened with the defeats to Denmark and China. Instead, he is counting on his players to deliver soon, especially on the big stage.
These players have the character, determination and tremendous fighting spirit and not forgetting the pride they carry with the national flag on their chest each time they take the court.
Maturity comes over years. For them the journey has just begun.
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