KUALA LUMPUR: The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) has acknowledged that its players fell short of their target at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games by not securing the gold medal.
BAM Secretary-General Datuk Kenny Goh stated that while the team did not achieve their goal, he refrained from offering excuses. Instead, he emphasised the need to move past this setback and focus on enhancing future performances.
"We didn't meet our target, but badminton has consistently delivered medals for Malaysia in almost every Olympics.
Although some might view it as just a bronze, it's a significant achievement, and I appreciate the support," Goh said during a press conference today.
"I don't want to make excuses. It's time to put this behind us and work on improvements."
At the 2024 Paris Olympics, BAM's players secured a bronze medal in men's doubles through Aaron-Wooi Yik. Additionally, Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah reached the women's doubles bronze medal decider, while Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei advanced to the quarter-finals in mixed doubles.
Rexy Mainaky, the coaching director at Academy Badminton Malaysia, had mixed feelings about the performance of his players. He acknowledged that while the goal of winning gold was not achieved, there were notable improvements compared to previous performances.
"There's a sense of disappointment because we didn't win the gold, but I'm also pleased with the players' performance," Mainaky said.
"They came close to winning gold. My hope is that moving forward, we'll no longer be talking about 'almost' and will achieve a gold medal." — BERNAMA