The Malaysian badminton team is seeded fourth in the Sudirman Cup, and placed fifth in the latest Badminton World Federation (BWF) world team rankings.
Beyond the excitement of the top seeding and ranking, is the bigger picture –that Malaysian badminton is no longer overly reliant on one or two departments.
“We don’t have a (Datuk Lee) Chong Wei, but on the other hand, we are more balanced now, which we need to obviously maintain,” said Michelle Chai, the Akademi Badminton Malaysia chief executive officer.
She was referring to Lee’s dominance in the scene, having spent 348 weeks as World No. 1 before hanging up his racquet for good in June 2019.
“What the new rankings also show is that we can be competitive in all events. We can actually be a powerhouse, and the rankings show it.”
Chai explained that the Sudirman Cup seeding takes into account the highest ranked shuttlers in the various individual events, while the world body’s team ranking calculates rankings from the individual and team events, like the Thomas Cup, Uber Cup and Sudirman Cup.
China is the top seed in the Sudirman Cup and sits atop BWF’s ranking. Japan and Indonesia are placed second and third respectively as the top seeds in the Sudirman Cup, while Japan, South Korea, and Indonesia are second, third, and fourth in the BWF World Team ranking.
“We need to further strengthen the processes. It’s our best ranking since 2017,” Chai added.
Chai admitted that some of the best shuttlers in Malaysia were no longer in the national stable.
“We need to continue this positive trend. Admittedly, some of the players are playing independently. As such, we know there is work to be done.
“But this is in line with (BAM president Tan Sri) Norza (Zakaria’s) vision … to create a factory of good players across all departments, instead of just concentrating on one or two players or events.”
She also admitted that it was crucial to learn from the top-ranked teams.
“These countries have a solid badminton ecosystem. What I mean by this is that they don’t just do well with the elite players, but they are also concentrating on the grassroots, via their communities and schools. China, Japan, South Korea, and Indonesia have strong grassroots development,” Chai added.
“The rankings show that we are among the best and continue to be among the best,” Chai added.
