Winning a badminton gold at the Tokyo Paralympics is a remarkable achievement for Malaysia as the country has only about 100 active players competing in tournaments at various levels.
Because of limited funding, only around 15 players get the opportunity to compete in international tournaments.
This is probably the reason why only Cheah Liek Hou (SU5 — standing upper impairment) and Didin Taresoh (SH6 — short stature), and not more, qualified for the Tokyo Paralympics.
The fact that most of the qualifying tournaments are held in South America and Europe didn't help Malaysia's cause. Only players with winning chances or the ability to reach finals are considered due to cost factors.
Playing in more tournaments would have helped Ikhwan Ramli qualify for wheelchair (WH1) badminton at the Tokyo Paralympics. He won the final qualifying event, the Dubai Para International in May, but it wasn't enough to grant him Tokyo qualification.
National Sports Council (NSC) head of Paralympic strength and racquet sports division Johari Wahab said Ikhwan was a medal prospect as he had previously beaten the Tokyo Paralympics medallists in various tournaments.
NSC's Para athletes centre is at the Kampung Pandan Sports Complex where 30 players are in the para-badminton programme under coaches Samidono and Woon Sze Mei (wheelchair badminton).
"We don't get many people taking up para-badminton. There are around 100 players who compete in local tournaments which have more than 10 categories. Our programme has about 30 players," said Johari.
"Apart from Liek Hou and Didin, we have a few more players who have shown progress, but they are still not on par with the top international players.
"Ikhwan could have made it to the Tokyo Games if he had played in enough tournaments. Postponement and cancellation of tournaments due to Covid-19 and funding had made it difficult.
"Playing in more para tournaments in Asia would help our players to improve their world rankings and improve their chances of qualifying for the Paralympics."
Liek Hou had always been a standard bearer for Malaysian para-badminton for several years, and the NSC, seeing his potential for gold in Tokyo, came up with a special programme for him.
Johari said Liek Hou's decision to train under Rashid Sidek and Nova Armada at Sports Affairs Academy was given the greenlight by the NSC, and the target was to achieve gold in Tokyo.
"There was a big gap between Liek Hou and the other players at Kampung Pandan, and this was the reason we decided to have a tie-up with Sports Affairs where he trains under Rashid and Nova, and also got quality sparring partners."
Former national player Soong Joo Ven was roped in as a sparring partner.
However, the set-up saw a change when Rashid resigned as Sports Affairs head coach.
"After Rashid left Sports Affairs, he was hired to coach Liek Hou for the Paralympics. The player showed steady progress and delivered in Tokyo."
While NSC are yet to draw up a comprehensive programme for the 2024 Paralympics in Paris, more players are likely to be part of the programme.
However, Liek Hou's age is a concern as the 33-year-old will face a tough time in Paris. NSC may need to focus on two more players – Faris Azry and Amyrul Yazif Sibi – to give Malaysia a better chance of winning gold in the SU5 category.
If Rashid is granted a new coaching contract by NSC, the former Olympic bronze medallist will have his work cut out to ensure Malaysia reign supreme in the SU5 by training up Faris and Amyrul.
While Ikhwan is on the right path in the WH1, another player in the same category (wheelchair) Noor Azwan Noorlan has also been progressing well under Woon Sze Mei.
Two other Olympic categories, (standing lower) SL3 and SL4 also have a few promising players that NSC can focus on. They are Huzairi Malek (SL3), Nurhilmie Zainuddin (SL4) and Zulfathil Jaafar (SL4).
BAM could also lend a hand in beefing up para-badminton, as Sze Mei, a long-time coach with the national squad, is under BAM's payroll.
According to Johari, the national body, who have been focusing on junior and elite programmes for able-bodied shuttlers, want NSC to continue running the para-badminton programme.