Is badminton gold mine drying up?

Badminton has contributed a total of 29 gold medals for the Malaysian contingent at the Commonwealth Games since the sport made its debut in 1966 in Kingston, Jamaica.

It's considered a gold mine for Malaysia who have never returned empty-handed, except for the 1986 edition in Edinburgh, Scotland, when they did not send a team.

This year, the 10-member squad for the Games in Birmingham on July 28-Aug 8 will look to extend that long standing record.

Times, however, have changed, and Malaysia are no longer considered clear favourites, as countries like Singapore and India have started mounting a strong challenge in recent years.

Last month, Malaysia's blue-eyed boy, Lee Zii Jia, dropped a bombshell when he announced his withdrawal from the Commonwealth Games to focus on his World Championships preparation.

This meant that Malaysia's chances of retaining the men's singles gold, won by former world No 1 Lee Chong Wei, have been drastically reduced.

World No 44 Ng Tze Yong, who was called up to stand in for Zii Jia, has been enjoying a good run in form, but realistically, going up against heavyweights like reigning world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore and India's Thomas Cup winner Lakshya Sen, is a tall order even by his standards.

There is, however, still plenty at stake for the Malaysian squad who are expected to deliver in the men's doubles, women's doubles, mixed doubles and team event.

In men's doubles, all eyes will be on world No 6 Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, who are expected to deliver the goods.

Despite their long wait for an Open title, Aaron-Wooi, have never lost to India's world No 8 Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty, who are expected to be their biggest threat for the gold.

And in women's doubles, Malaysia boast world No 11 Pearly Tan-M.Thinaah, who on paper, should be winning gold as they are the highest ranked pair among the Commonwealth nations.

In mixed doubles, Malaysia have decided to go with two pairs, world No 9 Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing, and former Olympic silver medallist Chan Peng Soon, who will partner debutante Cheah Yee See.

Peng Soon, who will be making his fourth and final appearance at the Games, has surprisingly never won the individual gold medal, having partnered two different players in the past.

Hoping his third partner will be his charm, Peng Soon has indicated that he wants his swansong to be a golden affair.

While it won't be easy to wrest the mixed team gold from India, Malaysia can catch them by surprise if they could prevail in three of the above mentioned events — men's doubles, women's doubles and mixed doubles.

As for both the singles events, it will be tough for Malaysia to come good, even if they tried.

In women's singles, former world champion and current world No 7 P.V.Sindhu made it clear that she will not go easy on anybody as she looks to clinch her maiden Commonwealth Games gold.

Malaysia could still fight for a podium finish through two-time former world junior champion Goh Jin Wei, but as she is still far from her best, it's better to temper expectations.

Related Articles