KUALA LUMPUR: The concerning decline in Malaysian badminton is not solely a coaching problem, according to former BA of Malaysia (BAM) high-performance director Datuk James Selvaraj.
He believes players and coaches need to take a hard look at themselves and evaluate their training programmes to break the current slump.
Reflecting on the national players' poor performance at the recent Malaysia Open, James said:
"Definitely not a coaching problem.
"Most of the coaches, especially our own Malaysians, tend to be successful outside the country. So, why not here?
"I think something needs to be done. Maybe it's time to overhaul the training programmes."
Notably, three Malaysia Open finalists – women's singles champion An Se Yong from South Korea, mixed doubles champions Yuta Watanabe-Arisa Higashino of Japan, and men's doubles runners-up Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty of India – were, at some point, coached by Malaysians.
Yuta-Arisa are still under the guidance of Malaysia's Jeremy Gan.
Using men's doubles Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik as an example, James added: "I watched their quarter-final match against the South Korean's Kang Min Hyuk-Seo Seung Jae.
"Funny because our pair won comfortably the first game, but when the Koreans switched up their play in the second, we couldn't follow.
"Shouldn't we also switch up our play when our opponents do? Or are our Malaysian players not capable of that? If so, then what is the problem?
"In my opinion, the coaches, led by Rexy Mainaky (coaching director), need to re-assess the training programmes and address what needs to change."
Regardless of the issue, the public desires swift results.
Players eyeing to feature in the Paris Olympics have less than four months to secure their spots, followed by a couple of months to step up and be medal contenders.
Except for world No. 14 Ng Tze Yong, most of the top national shuttlers are in New Delhi for the India Open.
Tze Yong, who sustained a lower back muscle tear in the Malaysia Open first round, is battling against time to make a quick comeback.
