PETALING JAYA: Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah (pic) were left in tears backstage after another painful early exit at the Malaysian Open.
The national women’s doubles were heartbroken after losing 24-26, 17-21 to Indonesia’s Febriana Kusuma-Meilysa Puspitasari in the second round at Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil, once again letting the home crowd down.
The World Championships runners-up have yet to progress beyond the early rounds of the home meet.
Badminton Association of Malaysia performance committee chairman Datuk Seri Lee Chong Wei, however, wants them to put the setback behind them and restore their pride at the Indian Open starting today in New Delhi.
They should clear first round hurdle against India’s Kavipriya Selvam-Simran Singhi but their first real test will likely be against third seeds Kim Hye-jeong-Kong Hee-yong or Yuku Fukushima-Mayu Matsumoto, the fifth seeds, in the quarter finals.
Said Chong Wei: “I was an athlete too, so I understood their feeling. When I went over, both of them were crying backstage. I told them, if they wanted to cry or be angry, do it now,” said Chong Wei.
“I’ve advised them not to dwell on the disappointment for too long as there are many more tournaments ahead.
“There is no excuse when they say they cannot play at home. I understand the pressure they were under.”
As the most successful Malaysian player in the history of the Malaysian Open with 12 titles, Chong Wei admitted that he himself was sometimes uncomfortable competing on home soil due to the weight of expectations he had to carry during his playing days.
“Not every player can perform under pressure. Some can, some cannot. If you ask me, whether I like playing at home or not, I do not like it,” said Chong Wei.
“But playing at home is still an advantage because we have so many supporters behind us.
“We have to take the pressure as motivation. Athletes everywhere face the same thing. The key is how we turn that pressure into motivation.
“When I played at the Malaysian Open, there were times I preferred competing overseas. It was not due to a lack of support from Malaysians, but because the desire to perform well for our people, ourselves and the country creates extra pressure at home.
“When there is pressure, some simple mistakes may happen. You can see movements become slightly slower.
“It is not that we intentionally slow down, but perhaps the body becomes tense because of the pressure. But this is not an excuse. We must look ahead and see how we can improve,” said Chong Wei.
“There is the Indian Open next, followed by the Indonesian Masters, so we cannot afford to stay stuck in this moment,” added Chong Wei.
