HANGZHOU: Once again, it was all hype. Once again, the national men's badminton team flattered to deceive.
Lee Zii Jia and company were ignominiously kicked out of the Asian Games men's team event on Thursday. Perhaps the organisers were right in thinking "lowly" of the Malaysian team. They reckoned Zii Jia and Co didn't deserve a seeding and it was rightly proven so.
It was only their first hurdle in Hangzhou and they tripped miserably with a 3-1 loss to South Korea at the Binjiang Gymnasium. A miserable first round exit in the round of 16.
In the previous edition, in 2018 in Jakarta, Malaysia had also crashed out in the first round with a 3-0 loss to Japan.
If this is any indication, Malaysian shutttlers can forget about doing well in the individual events. They had better be prepared to "lose three medals".
The Malaysian contingent had predicted three medals from the badminton camp. While it was not publicly announced, two silver were targeted for the men's team and former doubles world champions, Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, and one bronze for women's doubles Pearly Tan-M.Thinaah.
Yet, there was talk that the men's team didn't push themselves against the Koreans as the event does not offer Olympic ranking points, unlike the individual events that start next week, Really? Did the Koreans think the same way, that the team event was "not important?"
The much-talked about Zii Jia failed to show the way, failed to put his team ahead. He was still "losing early" as he has done all season, He lost to
Jeon Hyeok Jin 21-14, 14-21, 21-18.
One would doubt Zii Jia's confidence which must have taken a beating this year. This was Zii Jia's first loss to the Korean in three meetings.
Aaron-Wooi Yik tried to save Malaysia, and they won their match. But the team were a let-down in the other two matches.
World No 19 Ng Tze Yong not only lost his match 21-11, 21-16 to world No 119 Lee Yin Gyu, but also "lost the courtesy" to attend a post-match media interview in the mixed zone.
In the second doubles, independents Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi fought hard, but it was not enough to prevent a Malaysia exit.
So what has led to this? Who should be held accountable? Will Malaysian sports officials make a stand on this fiasco and drop under-performing athletes, or will they continue to bend their backs and play to the tune of fans on social media?
Successful countries like China show that sports are all about results. Malaysian sports should not tolerate underperforming athletes. There should be no room for athletes who don't show results.
The last time Malaysia won badminton medals at the Asiad was in 2014 in Incheon when a Lee Chong Wei-led team won four bronze medals.
At the last Asiad, Malaysian shuttlers returned home empty-handed. The same old sad story this time?