Malaysian media blames BAM president for failure

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)