Malaysian media blames BAM president for failure

KUALA LUMPUR (JP): Following the defeat of host and runner-up Malaysia, local media has put the blame firmly on Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) president Abdullah Fadzil Che Wan, saying he should be held responsible.

Malaysia bowed out 1-4 to Denmark in a do-or-die group match in the Thomas Championships on Tuesday.

Che Wan had told a post-match conference that he would take the blame by submitting a resignation letter to the BAM council due to the failure of the team to fulfill target of winning the trophy. However, the media still doubted his statement.

Up to Thursday, newspapers in Malaysia continued to condemn the country's failure before a packed house of 12,000 spectators at the Putra Indoor Stadium.

They blamed Che Wan for burdening players by setting high targets they were unable to attain.

Roslin Hashim, who injured his right elbow in a match against India on Sunday, said: "They (officials) never questioned us about our condition. They just talked about how to win the cup, which, in fact, we are unable to do."

Speaking before competitors at the welcome ceremony on May 9 at the Palace of the Golden Horses, Che Wan expressed hope that his team would be able to win the cup like in 1992 when Malaysia also hosted the biennial event.

However, he said: "I will submit my resignation letter to the BAM council as my responsibility for the failure. I apologize to the people of Malaysia due to our team's failure here, that they were unable to go through to the semifinals, especially after being given support from all sectors."

"Our players have performed their best. However, they lost to a better team. We prepared them well, but, apparently, our opponents were better prepared than us," Che Wan, who was accompanied by Thomas Cup team manager Muhammad Al Amin Majid and Uber Cup team manager Lim Teong Kiat, said.

Earlier reports said that the Malaysian team had prepared the squad in closed-door training sessions and not had allowed the media to cover the preparations.

After the failure, Che Wan said he expected all officials, coaches and players to concentrate on upcoming major events, including the Olympic Games in Sydney in September, the 2001 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Kuala Lumpur and the 2002 Thomas Cup championships. (yan)