PETALING JAYA: It is not how you start, but how you finish.
That is likely the mindset driving the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) president Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz (pic) as he remains committed to the Tangkis 2030 plan despite Malaysia failing to win the Thomas Cup this year.
Malaysia’s campaign in Horsens, Denmark, ended in the quarter-finals after a 3-0 defeat to defending champions China – falling short of their target to bring back the Cup last won in 1992.
For Zafrul, the failure to end the country’s 34-year wait for the title does not mean the Tangkis 2030 plan has failed, especially with two more Thomas Cup editions remaining before 2030.
“First, we have to remember that we lost to the Thomas Cup champions, China. But the most important thing is 2030.
“We still have the 2028 and 2030 Thomas Cups ahead of us. The plan is for the long term, not just the immediate future, but for 2030.
“So we still have two more Thomas Cups, Insya-Allah. Hopefully by then our doubles and singles players will be able to perform better,” said Zafrul.
Under the Tangkis 2030 plan unveiled after he took over as BAM president in August last year, the governing body outlined five major targets, including winning the Thomas Cup by 2030, securing a gold medal at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, producing world No. 1 players in three of the five events, as well as creating a sustainable pipeline of champions and building a healthier Malaysia.
At the same time, Zafrul admitted he was disappointed with the current performances of the national men’s singles players led by Leong Jun Hao following their disappointing outing in the Thomas Cup.
However, he does not want to make any rash decisions and will instead leave it to the coaching team to determine Jun Hao’s future, with the matter set to be discussed during BAM’s council meeting next month.
“I leave that to our coaches. But for me, I have full confidence in our coaching team, especially with Datuk Seri Lee Chong Wei leading it.
“They have already made several suggestions which we will discuss during our meeting in June,” he added.
