Norza wants Malaysian shuttlers to make the LA 'quantum leap'
KUALA LUMPUR: It's no longer just about Malaysian shuttlers making the world's top 10, top 8 or even top 5.
Datuk Norza Zakaria, who has just relinquished his BAM president's post after a commendable period, said the country's shuttlers should work towards making the quantum leap to the very top of the Olympic podium.
To be in a position to achieve this, Norza said our shuttlers need to be consistently in the world top three rankings.
He said those in the elite Road to Gold (RTG) Olympic programme should not just be happy to meet its criteria.
Norza, who is the keep-raising-the-bar type, wants more. After all, under his watch, Malaysia won three Olympic badminton bronze medals and a World Championship title. But above all else, he wants to see Malaysia winning an Olympic gold — which has proved to be elusive.
However, the "current levels" are not enough; it has to be world's top three.
Norza urged Malaysian shuttlers to raise themselves to "top three" standard if they are to have a good chance of winning gold at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
During Norza's BAM tenure, men's doubles Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik won two bronzes (2020 Tokyo and 2024 Paris) and independent player Lee Zii Jia bagged bronze (2024 Paris).
The RTG programme, which provides additional funding and support services for potential Olympic medallists, has set a world top 10 criteria for shuttlers to be part of its programme.
"We have to quantum leap ourselves as we don't have time for another four years. If we continue to focus on the bronze medal, we will never achieve our gold target at the 2028 Olympics," said Norza.
"This is what I raised at the RTG as we cannot just fulfill the criteria and remain at No. 10 or No. 8. To be potential gold under RTG, they must be in the top three.
"For instance, Indonesia won the speed sport climbing because their athlete (Veddriq Leonardo) was ranked No. 1 in his event.
"Our shuttlers are probably at No. 5 or No. 6 in the world, but the way forward is to be top three in the world. We should be in that position one or six years before the 2028 Olympics.
"To be in the top three, we have to beat China, South Korea, Japan and Indonesia. But until we have built a system to equal these countries in terms of mental and physical strength, we will get stuck at No. 4 or No. 5."
Norza said Malaysia need to move towards capturing the Olympic gold with military precision, and this is the challenge for his BAM successor, Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz to look into.
Malaysia already have world No. 10 Zii Jia in the men's singles, three pairs in the men's doubles — Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani (No. 2), Aaron-Wooi Yik (No. 5) and Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun (No. 7) — and mixed doubles Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai (No. 3) and Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei (No. 5).
However, Norza believes that Malaysia can win more world titles and regain the Thomas Cup under Tengku Zafrul. Aaron-Wooi Yik won Malaysia's first and only world title in 2022 while the nation last won the Thomas Cup in 1992.
"During my time, we already secured a world title, but we need to have more world champions from different events. We also have to bring back the Thomas Cup and look for the elusive (Olympic) gold ," added Norza.
"The improved administrational strength and systematic high performance programme run by foreign and local coaches should help," said Norza.
Malaysian fans will hope that the new BAM boss, Tengku Zafrul, will be able to set the launching pad for our shuttlers to make that quantum leap.
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