PETALING JAYA: Men’s doubles shuttler Aaron Chia has advised his teammates, including the younger players in the national camp, not to be affected by the negative comments directed at them.
The world No. 2 said such remarks are inevitable for athletes, especially with the widespread use of social media among the public.
Aaron himself has also been the target of online criticism after producing below-par results in several European tournaments last month. Still, he chose not to respond to any of the negative comments.
As such, he believes the best approach is to ignore the insults and harsh words thrown their way.
“To be honest, it’s impossible not to look at your phone these days. Everyone checks their phone. But to me, it’s not something that should be taken too seriously.
“What’s important is that players shouldn’t care too much about those comments because people have the freedom to say whatever they want. Most of them don’t even use their real accounts to comment.
“If they’re using fake accounts, it means they don’t have the courage. I’ll be honest, if someone has the guts to say it to my face, I can accept that. But if they hide behind fake accounts, why should I care about what they say? They don’t even dare to show themselves,” said Aaron when met at Academy Badminton Malaysia (ABM), Bukit Kiara on Friday (Nov 7).
Last week, the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) were forced to issue an official statement condemning the actions of irresponsible individuals who had gone as far as endangering the safety of the players through their attacks.
