BANGKOK: Stay put, Rexy Mainaky.
Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) president Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz is standing by doubles coaching director Rexy after the shuttlers’ failure to meet the four-gold target in the SEA Games.
Women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah were the sole gold medallists for Malaysia while other hopefuls – former world champions Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik (men’s doubles) and reigning world champions Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei (mixed doubles) returned home with a silver and bronze respectively.
Rexy had earlier said that he would take full responsibility for the team’s performances and was prepared to step down if asked.
Zafrul, though, has given the Indonesian his backing, saying that the failure in a single tournament does not erase the fact that Rexy did play an important role in Malaysia’s historic success in the World Championships in Paris in August.
Tang Jie-Ee Wei had become the first Malaysians to win the world title in the mixed doubles while Pearly-Thinaah had been the first to win silver in women’s doubles.
“I appreciate Rexy’s frank statement but my stance is clear. We still need him,” said Zafrul via social media.
“Experience and development philosophy cannot be measured in one tournament. National squad building is a long-term process.
“One failure does not erase a huge success this year. We emerged as mixed doubles world champions and for the first time ever, women’s doubles reached the final in the World Championships.
“SEA Games teaches a valuable lesson. It’s not an easy stage for us. We accept that not all targets were met.
“We will fix weaknesses and rise again more mature. This is not the end but a stepping stone,” added Zafrul.
Zafrul also pointed out that Malaysia exceeded the total medal target of seven.
The team managed to bring back nine medals overall.
The men’s team won silver while the women’s team, Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun (men’s doubles), Leong Jun Hao, Justin Hoh (men’s singles) and Wong Ling Ching (women’s singles) all claimed bronze.
“Although the gold medal target was not met, the team won nine medals which exceeded the target of seven,” said Zafrul.
“Most meaningful was Ling Ching’s bronze in the women’s singles which was Malaysia’s first medal in the event in six years.
“This shows that our talent development is on the right track.
“What happened is not an individual failure but a collective responsibility between players, coaches and management.
“We win as a team and when we lose, it’s also a collective responsibility,” added Zafrul.
