PETALING JAYA: Singles shuttler Eogene Ewe’s collapse at the recent Malaysia Games (Sukma) is nothing to be alarmed about.
It only showed the enormous pressure national players put on themselves when facing lower-ranked opponents on home soil.
The 21-year-old Eogene was the top seed but went down 17-21, 14-21 to Ayu Fu Sheng in the last 16 of the individual badminton competition.
With that defeat, world No. 82 Eogene ended his Sukma campaign without a single medal. He had also crashed out in the early rounds of his previous two Sukma editions.
Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) performance committee chairman Datuk Seri Lee Chong Wei sees Eogene’s defeat as a common problem among national players.
“Our national players always put a lot of pressure on themselves when playing against lower-ranked players ... it shows a lack of mental strength,” said Chong Wei.
“This was also evident in the recent Lee Chong Wei Cup when several BAM players lost to junior players.
“It is something that the top players and coaches will have to work on.
“Eogene, however, did well on the international stage last year but, of course, there is still a long way to go and he has plenty of room for improvement.”
Last year, Eogene lifted the Slovenia Open and Malaysian International Challenge titles.
He is currently ranked fifth in the country behind Leong Jun Hao (31), Justin Hoh (45), Lee Zii Jia (58) and Cheam June Wei (59).
