Badminton

Paris Olympics CDM Hamidin demands more from shuttlers

KUALA LUMPUR: Paris Olympics Chef de Mission Datuk Hamidin Amin wants to see national badminton players under the Road to Gold (RTG) programme, including Lee Zii Jia, start displaying more consistent results.

Hamidin said he was expecting the players to at least make the quarterfinals or better in their upcoming tournaments.

"This is not the time to be thinking about the gold or silver (at the Olympics) because they still have many competitions to play in (before Paris)," said Hamidin when met at the Milo-Olympic Council of Malaysia sponsorship agreement signing event in Kuala Lumpur today.

"They have to set for themselves a goal to reach the quarterfinals at least, if not the semi-finals or finals, over the next few tournaments.

"At the Sudirman Cup, he (Zii Jia) won all his matches, but at the Malaysia Masters, he lost in the second round.

"But, it is a process and it will take time for him to improve."

Hamidin, who is also OCM deputy president, added that Zii Jia needed to show improvement at some point to ensure his place in the RTG programme was secure.

"Zii Jia has now dropped to No. 10 in the rankings, so he has to try hard to rediscover his form and be back at his best.

"As head of the contingent, I will remain patient and give him a chance because sometimes players have issues they need to resolve.

"But if we reach a point where he is not able to prove himself, we may have to make a decision."

The RTG programme, launched by Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh in March, is intended to give cream-of-the-crop athletes the support they need to challenge for gold at the Paris Olympics as well as Los Angeles 2028.

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