Thomas Cup: Let's learn from this defeat, says PM
News 4:48 PM
PRIME Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak came to the Putra Stadium hoping that his luck would rub off on the Malaysian Thomas Cup team against China in the semi-finals last night.
He was, after all, the Youth and Sports Minister when Malaysia last won the Thomas Cup back in 1992.
But his presence last night failed to inspire the current bunch of shuttlers as they were completely outclassed 3-0 by defending champions China.
“We failed to give the rakyat what they had been hoping for but I hope the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM), the coaches and players will not be disappointed,” said Najib.
“I hope they take stock of the defeat. Let it be a lesson so that we can learn from tonight.
“I also hope the players will not give up and strive to improve themselves as there are still other tournaments to look forward to.”
BAM president Datuk Nadzmi Mohd Salleh expressed surprise over China's strong and powerful display.
He said that he would meet the coaches immediately to conduct a post-mortem to find out why they lost meekly and to come out with ways to narrow the gap.
“It is disappointing for Malaysia to lose in this manner. China have really surprised everyone here with their depth,” said Nadzmi.
He, however, said that there would not be any drastic changes to the coaching set-up.
“There is no need to drop any coaches. We will haul them up during the post-mortem and find out what went wrong,” he said.
He was, after all, the Youth and Sports Minister when Malaysia last won the Thomas Cup back in 1992.
But his presence last night failed to inspire the current bunch of shuttlers as they were completely outclassed 3-0 by defending champions China.
“We failed to give the rakyat what they had been hoping for but I hope the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM), the coaches and players will not be disappointed,” said Najib.
“I hope they take stock of the defeat. Let it be a lesson so that we can learn from tonight.
“I also hope the players will not give up and strive to improve themselves as there are still other tournaments to look forward to.”
BAM president Datuk Nadzmi Mohd Salleh expressed surprise over China's strong and powerful display.
He said that he would meet the coaches immediately to conduct a post-mortem to find out why they lost meekly and to come out with ways to narrow the gap.
“It is disappointing for Malaysia to lose in this manner. China have really surprised everyone here with their depth,” said Nadzmi.
He, however, said that there would not be any drastic changes to the coaching set-up.
“There is no need to drop any coaches. We will haul them up during the post-mortem and find out what went wrong,” he said.
Posted by Lucas Liau
on 4:48 PM.
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