KL vows to sweep badminton golds
JAKARTA (JP): Host Malaysia is upbeat of turning badminton, one of its favorite sports, into a gold mine of its own at the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, following its shuttlers' convincing performances in several events.
The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) set an initial target of only one gold medal due to the promise by major rival Indonesia to parade its world-class players.
"The initial target was only one gold medal but we will ask our shuttlers to fight it out to win as many gold medals as possible," BAM's president Nadzmi Saleh said as quoted by Bernama on Thursday.
"There are hopes of winning more than one gold medal, thanks to the good draw."
In the Bandar Seri Begawan 1999 SEA Games, Malaysia only came away with one gold medal from the mixed doubles pair of Chew Choon Eng and Chor Hooi Yee. It also took three silvers and two bronzes.
BAM has agreed to provide 5,000 Malaysian Ringgit (US$1,351) for each gold medalist, in addition to the cash bonuses promised by the Malaysian Olympic Committee, said Nadzmi.
Badminton will be played from Sept. 9 to Sept. 15 at Malawati Stadium in Shah Alam, just outside Kuala Lumpur.
The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) also set an affirmative target of regaining the gold medal in front of its home crowd.
"Hard training will be useless without clear targets. There should high expectations when we enter a competition and for the SEA Games it must be the gold medal that we are seeking," FAM vice president Ibrahim Saad told Bernama.
"My optimism is based on the enthusiasm shown by our soccer players and the fact that we will play on our home ground," he added.
Malaysia won the soccer gold medal the last time also on home ground at the Kuala Lumpur 1989 SEA Games has persistently failed to reach even the semifinals ever since.
Malaysia is in Group B with Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia and Vietnam, while defending champion Thailand is grouped together with Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Singapore in Group A.
The Philippines had announced earlier its withdrawal from the event.
Malaysia will play its first match on Sunday against Brunei.
The host is also hoping to defend its women's basketball title without too much difficulty.
"Our women's national team put on a terrific performance during its outings in Chinese Taipei since July and in friendlies against teams from Indonesia and Thailand," the Malaysian youth and sports minister's deputy, Ong Tee Keat, said.
"The team also beat Asia's leading basketball teams during their try out in China."
"Based on our achievements since 1977 and our advantage as the SEA Games host, the gold medal is surely in our hands," he told a press conference.
Malaysia won the women's basketball gold medals in 1977, 1979, 1981, 1985 and 1997. The 1999 SEA Games did not feature the women's event.
The host has a different target for the men's basketball event, however, and is only aiming for the bronze medal considering the tough competition from Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines. (nvn)