Thomas Cupper: Local power enough to keep M’sia as one of badminton giants

Young smashers: The Under-15, Under-13 and Under-11 winners of Allianz Junior Badminton Championship qualifiers in Taiping this year.

PETALING JAYA: Not all sports in Malaysia require the inclusion of heritage or naturalised athletes to strengthen their national teams, and badminton is one of them.

Badminton legend Datuk Rashid Sidek acknowledged the growing trend among sports associations in Malaysia to recruit athletes of Malaysian descent from abroad to reinforce their line-ups. However, he believes badminton has no need to explore such options, given the country’s long-standing reputation as one of the sport’s global powerhouses.