KUALA LUMPUR: Former national mixed doubles player, Goh Liu Ying described the initiative of the Road to Gold (RTG) Committee to help professional badminton players with more conducive training facilities as an appropriate important move.
Liu Ying, who has previously played professionally, said the main challenges faced by players who are not in the national squad are the lack of basic facilities and complete support services.
"I can confirm that as an independent player, the facilities used are not as good as those enjoyed by players in the national team.
"Even before qualifying for the (Tokyo 2020) Olympic Games, we sought help from the National Sports Council and the National Sports Institute because we needed not only a private training venue, but also a complete support team,” she said.
She told reporters after the launch of the Kidslympic Malaysia 2025 here, today.
Liu Ying and her partner Chan Peng Soon previously created history by becoming the country’s first mixed doubles to win a silver medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Despite leaving the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) in 2018, they still managed to qualify for the 2020 Olympic Games, which was their last appearance at the world’s biggest sporting event.
On Saturday, Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh said the RTG Committee would help professional badminton players get more conducive training venues as most of them are currently training in public courts.
At the same time, Liu Ying said that additional support services such as physiotherapy provided by RTG also help professional players maintain their performance despite having to endure a tight schedule to the point of having to play in three to four tournaments a month.
Regarding the Kidslympic Malaysia 2025, the co-founder of the children's sports games is targeting the participation of 5,000 participants from all over the country who will gather and compete at the Merdeka Stadium, here, from Oct 10-12.
She said that among the types of sports offered in the Kidslympic Malaysia 2025 are athletics, gymnastics, volleyball and basketball. - Bernama
