Let the professionals decide – for themselves and the nation

LAST year, tennis great Rafael Nadal announced on social media that he would not be competing in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

He said he had made up his mind after “listening to my body.”

His decision was respected.

It did not cause any ruckus nor raised eyebrows. Of course, there was disappointment as his fans would have loved to see him in action at the biggest sporting event.

It’s not that Nadal was not keen to compete for his nation. He did represent Spain at the 2008 Beijing Games and won the gold.

That’s how the life of a professional athlete is. You and your team make your own plans, select your tournaments, and peak for the right ones.

And even if you fail, you move on, hoping to get it right at the next one.

As professionals source their own funds and make their living through winnings, they are not answerable to anyone except themselves. In short, they decide their own destiny.

In Malaysia, national No. 1 Lee Zii Jia (pic) pulled off a Nadal when he politely turned down the invitation to represent Malaysia in next month’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

The Asian champion too felt that he needed to take care of his body as it had been a hectic schedule. More importantly, he had set his mind on doing well at the World Championships in Tokyo in August.

No Malaysian has won the world badminton title but one can see the fire in the 24-year-old to end that painful wait.

His decision, however, drew different reactions.

Some saw national duty as far more important. Some were naturally disappointed. But many rallied their support, applauding him for his maturity in making his own stand.

All the reactions were understandable as unlike in tennis, professionalism in Malaysian badminton has been seen in a bad light in the past.

Those who left the national set-up are seen as the opposing team or as though they were not representing the nation.

Zii Jia, however, could be the man to change all those negative perceptions.

Over two decades ago, the number of Malaysian professionals on the circuit was scarce.

Pei Wei Chung used to be the sole singles player prominent in the circuit albeit without much success. Even before that, there was the formation of the professional outfit Nusa Mahsuri and there were clubs trying to establish themselves.

Now, we have a large group of independent players, who have embraced the life of a professional athlete. They are flying high with their own sponsors, coaches, and a team of trainers.

Instead of being competitors to the national players, the independent players under different clubs or on their own continue to show that they can complement the goals of the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM).

Zii Jia played as the first singles at the recent Thomas Cup Finals after leaving the national set-up in January while top mixed pair Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing will compete at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games.

In fact, the presence of professionals like Viktor Axelsen of Denmark and Lakhsya Sen of India right here at the Academy Badminton Malaysia (BAM) for training in preparation for next week’s Malaysia Open speaks volumes.

This scenario would have been unheard of in the past.

In fact, Olympics gold medallist Axelsen has gotten a head start in showing that things could be done differently.

He has gathered players from different countries to train together at the centre in Dubai, and Malaysia’s independent shuttler Cheam June Wei has benefited from that a few times.

Times have changed. The professional players’ movement has gotten stronger and gained traction.

Probably, it’s the right time to form an international professional badminton body that will look out for these players’ welfare.

Axelsen, or even Zii Jia can be their president, who knows!

Instead of registering through the respective national associations to compete in international tournaments, they probably could enter tournaments organised by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) through their professional body.

The BWF have started a research process to help them make evidence-based decisions for their policy on the involvement of transgender athletes in the sport.

They could instead look at a more pressing matter - how to make it easier for professionals to compete.

Despite Nadal’s decision on Tokyo, when he won his 14th Roland Garros title and 22nd Grand Slam trophy last month, he was not the only one smiling - the whole of Spain stood proud.

Even when he chose to turn his back on some of the majors, his decision was respected.

Here in Malaysia too, whether you are a national or an independent athlete from whatever sports, junior or senior, whether you skip tournaments or lose to a worthy opponent, let the whole nation stand by you.