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New Straits Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- New Straits Times
BAM must not let badminton end up like diving
MALAYSIAN badminton is not in crisis — not yet. With stars like former world cham pions Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, Lee Zii Jia, Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah, Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani, Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei and Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai still competing — and often winning — on the BWF World Tour, the sport remains in good hands. At least until the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. In fact, Malaysia may even crown a second world champion in Paris next month. But it would be dangerously naive to believe the current wave of success will last forever. Because this is exactly where diving stood just a few years ago, before it plummeted. There was a time when Malaysian divers were contenders on the world stage. Pandelela Rinong's Olympic bronze in London 2012, multiple World Championship medals, and a string of podiums at the Commonwealth and Asian Games marked a golden era. She was not alone. Cheong Jun Hoong stunned China's elite to win Malaysia's first world title in 2017 in Budapest, a year after winning diving's first Olympic silver (with Pandelela) for Malaysia at the Rio Games. It looked like the country might finally win their first Olympic gold in diving, not in badminton. Nur Dhabitah Sabri, Wendy Ng and Leong Mun Yee helped establish Malaysia as a regional powerhouse. Fast forward to 2025, and the national diving team are competing in the ongoing World Aquatics Championships in Singapore with no real expectations. No buzz, no form and crucially, no medal hopes. The dive has been steep, brutal, and completely avoidable. This scribe, along with others in the sporting fraternity, raised the alarm years ago. Concerns about stagnation, over-reliance on ageing stars, and a lack of succession planning were brushed aside. Malaysia Aquatics failed to heed those warnings. They did not hire top-level coaches after Yang Zhuliang's contract was not renewed in 2017 — a pivotal mistake. Worse, insiders whispered that some divers were calling the shots in the national set-up. When athletes dictate policy, disaster is inevitable. The same names were recycled for major events while juniors sat idle. Grooming the next generation became an afterthought. By the time Malaysia Aquatics began revival initiatives, it was already too late. The system had stopped producing, the decline had begun, and the damage was done. Diving now finds itself gasping for air, clinging to memories of past glories. It is the latest cautionary tale in Malaysian sport, and one badminton must learn from before it's too late. Right now, badminton looks fine on paper. The senior ranks remain competitive. Pearly-Thinaah and Aaron-Wooi Yik will likely be Olympic medal contenders at LA28. Tang Jie-Ee Wei are rising stars. Zii Jia, inconsistent as he is, remains a top draw. And the BA of Malaysia's (BAM) system is still envied in the region. But cracks are starting to show — if you're paying attention. Malaysia failed to win a single medal at the recent Badminton Asia Junior Championships in Indonesia. Once a rich breeding ground for elite players, our juniors are now being outclassed by the likes of India, Japan, Thailand and even Taiwan — nations that once looked up to us. They weren't just beaten — they were outthought, outplayed and outworked. This isn't just about one tournament. It reflects a deeper issue in our development pipeline. Where is the next Zii Jia? The next Aaron-Wooi Yik? If BAM doesn't have those answers now, they may be forced to confront the same hard truths Malaysia Aquatics is struggling with today. This is the time for BAM to act, not to wait. Waiting for the seniors to decline before addressing structural issues is the very mistake that sank diving. The badminton system must evolve fast. It needs to constantly regenerate talent. That means more international exposure for juniors, stronger local competitions, better coaching at the grassroots, and support for clubs nationwide. It also means making hard calls, recognising when older players are blocking progress. Less politics. More planning. Less nostalgia. More foresight. Malaysia's sporting graveyard is filled with once-great disciplines undone by complacency. Field hockey was once among the world's best — now Malaysia are struggling in Asia and not producing top quality players. The Malaysian Hockey Confederation may say it has around 5,000 up-and-coming players nationwide produced through its development initiatives. However, most go "missing"' even before they reach senior ranks or are not up to the mark. Athletics produced legends like Rabuan Pit and Samson Vallabouy. Now they're footnotes. Reminders of what happens when ambition is replaced by comfort. Diving is merely the latest casualty. Pandelela and Dhabitah gave everything to the sport. They carried Malaysian diving for over a decade. But the burden was never meant to be theirs alone. Like Jun Hoong, who retired after Tokyo 2021 when the National Sports Council pulled her funding, they deserved a system that could take over. They didn't get it. Now, diving is stuck in denial, trying to defend the indefensible. Let's not wait for badminton to arrive at the same place. BAM still has time. But the window is narrowing. The rest of the world isn't waiting. This scribe hopes BAM listens. Because Malaysia Aquatics didn't, and it is paying the price. Without a plan, no athlete can carry a sport forever. Badminton doesn't need to dive — but it could, if we aren't careful.
Indian Express
5 days ago
- Sport
- Indian Express
What can Unnati Hooda expect against Akane Yamaguchi, after beating PV Sindhu
PV Sindhu might have put it down to some lucky chords after her loss to the youngster, but Unnati Hooda will need some serious pluck when she plays Akane Yamaguchi in quarterfinals of China Open. Hooda is already one of the youngest to make quarterfinals of a Super 1000 tournament (like a Grand Slam) at 17.8 years. But she needs to aim to go deeper into the tournament,and standing in her path is Japanese Akane Yamaguchi, seeded 3. The former double World Champion has been on the wane against the topmost name An Se Young, but remains formidable, especially for those with a flat, patterned, predictable game like Busanan Ongbamrungphan who she swatted aside in round of 16. ALSO READ | Unnati Hooda after defeating PV Sindhu at China Open- 'I stayed patient', Sindhu says, 'She got lucky with net chords' Hooda must get used to schedules of early matches right after following tiring ones like against Sindhu, and runs the biggest risk of carrying forward that exhaustion, which afflicts most upcoming names not used to this grind. Yamaguchi is a pro at getting better as tournaments progress. But she can be put under intense pressure with mixing up of strokes and staying precise but unpredictable. The Japanese tends to retrieve endlessly, and a second straight good defense day from Hooda will be needed. Dragging Yamaguchi into long rallies is counted as an achievement. Beautifully placed! 🙌 Follow live action: #BWFWorldTour #ChinaOpen2025 — BWF (@bwfmedia) July 24, 2025 Hooda after the big win against the domestic rival – also a former World champion – will need to stem the onslaught that Yamaguchi can calmly let loose. The Japanese will also not play under the sprt of pressure that Sindhu was under. Unnati Hooda, speaking on her win over PV Sindhu, had told BAI, 'Playing against PV Sindhu is always a challenge, and today's match was no exception. The rallies were long and grueling, but I managed to stay focused and composed under pressure. I'm happy of the way I gave it my all and won. It was a great test for me, and I'm looking forward to the next one.' Yamaguchi is a waning star at 28, but this diminishing is hugely relative. From the previous generation, she remains the most consistent and her ranking drop merely means going from World No 3 to No 4, much tougher challenge than playing World No 15.
Indian Express
6 days ago
- Sport
- Indian Express
China Open: Prannoy feels the pace of top level rush onto him in 3-set loss to Chou Tien Chen
There is a bit of rustiness when playing badminton at the topmost level that hits you smack, rather than slithers into the system. HS Prannoy might have played and won plenty in his career, but the stop-start nature of sustaining peak performance and dealing with a patched-up body from years of injuries, can suddenly strike mid-match and see plans come apart in a blink. The combined age on the court at the China Open Round of 16 when Prannoy played Chou Tien Chen was 68 – the Taiwanese is 35, two years older than the Indian. But Chou's phenomenal playing rate on the circuit (24 tournaments in last year) is more than any other Top 30 shuttler — beyond inspirational for a cancer survivor. With his incredible fitness, he plays week in, week out, and is extremely challenging early on in any tournament with his consistent Top 5 levels. Prannoy hence couldn't do much after taking a 21-18, 9-7 lead, to stop the freakishly brilliant opponent from maintaining his non-stop form, as he went down 21-18, 15-21, 8-21. Prannoy won the opener, and promptly exhausted his reserves, having come this far in the Super1000 on the back of a stupendous 5 match-point saving win in Round 1. He could hammer flatter smashes down the middle and work in bursts of energy, but Chou only had to pick on his backhand low flank defense, and his resistance would come undone in a stream of 6 consecutive points taken by his opponent to go from 13-13 to 13-19 in the second set. Chou Tien Chen and H.S. Prannoy clash for a quarterfinals spot. 🏸 #BWFWorldTour #ChinaOpen2025 — BWF (@bwfmedia) July 24, 2025 The third set didn't amount to much, but Prannoy highlighted an important form of exhaustion / rustiness / lack of finishing finesse that sets in if you haven't played enough on the Tour. When BWF asked him if the third set was owing to endurance troubles, he said, 'Maybe ..but today I didn't feel it was physical. Because the third game the way it went off, hardly one or two long rallies out there. The kind of play against high quality opponents like this frequently is very important. Then you know what kind of pressure is going to come. Third game first half…' he trailed off, as his 4-11 in decider near flatlined and he was gone in 65 long short-minutes. Chou can do that to opponents – always threaten to come back, always lurk to pounce, always pick on small weaknesses and unleash a flurry to upend momentums, if you are even slightly off your top fitness. 'Hadn't really trained before this week. So considering that a decent performance but really frustrated that probably could have played a little better innthe third set. It just went out in a whisker. Should have made it a little more neck to neck,' Prannoy would tell BWF. The piercing pace aside, Prannoy couldn't find the rhythm in the decider and was a goner soon. 'Probably second game was crucial there,' Prannoy correctly read the situation. 'I was finding it a little tough to play in third set..I was not getting the length at the back all of a sudden. Just felt it was too tight at the net. He was pushing from the net. Credit to him, he put the pressure. Second probably should have kept it a little tighter and made the game longer. But that patch of 5 points (16) from 12-all (13) made a big difference,' he concluded.
Hans India
6 days ago
- Sport
- Hans India
Unnati Hooda dazzles with upset win, sets up Round-of-16 clash with Sindhu at China Open
Changzhou: India's rising badminton star Unnati Hooda produced a stunning performance to knock out veteran Scottish shuttler Kirsty Gilmour in straight games at the China Open 2025, setting up an all-Indian Round-of-16 clash with PV Sindhu. The 17-year-old displayed exceptional composure and skill to win 21-11, 21-16 in just 36 minutes, marking one of the biggest victories of her young career on the BWF World Tour. From the outset, Unnati looked sharp and confident, keeping the pressure on Gilmour with tight net play and well-placed smashes. Her ability to control the pace of rallies and draw errors from the experienced Scot was a highlight of the match. The teenager raced through the first game, giving Gilmour little chance to recover. The second game saw more resistance, but Unnati never lost grip on the contest and closed it out with maturity beyond her years. With this win, Unnati not only progressed to the pre-quarterfinals of a Super 1000 event but also earned a rare chance to test herself against PV Sindhu — India's most decorated women's shuttler — in what promises to be a generational showdown. Earlier in the day, two-time Olympic medallist Sindhu fought past Japan's sixth seed Tomoka Miyazaki 21-15, 8-21, 21-17 to advance to the next round. Sindhu started strongly, using her experience to dominate the first game, but Miyazaki hit back emphatically in the second. In the decider, Sindhu raced to an early lead and fended off a late charge from the teenager to seal victory in 62 minutes. This was Sindhu's first win over Miyazaki, who had beaten her at the Swiss Open last year. In men's doubles, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty eased into the Round-of-16 with a convincing 21-13, 21-9 win over Japan's Kenya Mitsuhashi and Hiroki Okamura. However, it was a disappointment for the women's doubles duo Rutaparna and Swetaparna Panda, who lost to a higher-ranked Hong Kong China pair.
News18
6 days ago
- Sport
- News18
From Idol To Opponent: 17-Year-Old Unnati Hooda's Historic Rise In Badminton
Last Updated: Unnati Hooda, a rising star in Indian badminton, made history by winning the Odisha Open at 14 and defeating Kirsty Gilmour at 17. She now faces her idol PV Sindhu next. From idolizing legends to challenging them on the court, Unnati Hooda's journey in Indian badminton has come full circle. Over the past decade, India has witnessed the rise of several badminton greats—Saina Nehwal, PV Sindhu, and Kidambi Srikanth, to the current generation of stars like Chirag Shetty, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, and Lakshya Sen. Now, a new name is rapidly emerging to join that elite list: Unnati Hooda. Making History at Just 14 Unnati burst onto the international scene in 2022 when, at just 14 years of age, she claimed the Odisha Open title, becoming the youngest Indian ever to win a Super 100 BWF World Tour event. The win instantly marked her as one of the brightest young prospects in Indian badminton. Breaking Records at 17 Now 17, Unnati has continued her meteoric rise. Ranked a career-high world No. 37, she etched her name in the history books once again by defeating Scotland's Kirsty Gilmour at a prestigious World Tour 1000 event. Unnati stunned the two-time Commonwealth Games medallist with a 21-11, 21-16 win in just 36 minutes at the Olympic Sports Centre on Wednesday. Her performance was highlighted by a brilliant comeback in the second game, rallying from 8-13 down to secure the match in style. A Dream Match Against Her Idol With her victory, Unnati has now set up a Round of 16 clash with none other than PV Sindhu, a player she has long admired. 'I am a big fan of PV Sindhu's smashes. Growing up, I have always aspired to play like her. I'm hoping that I will get an opportunity to see her play and learn from her game," Unnati told The Tribune in an interview earlier this year. Now, not only will she see Sindhu play—she'll share the same court with her as a competitor. A Meteoric Climb in the Rankings Unnati's breakthrough year was 2022. She started the season ranked world No. 418, but her Odisha Open win propelled her up the rankings, jumping more than 200 spots to No. 217. Her rapid ascent didn't stop there. By the end of 2022, she had broken into the top 100. Unnati's second senior title came in October 2023, when she defeated compatriot Samiya Imad Farooqui in a tightly contested final at the Abu Dhabi Masters, another Super 100 BWF World Tour event. With a World Tour 1000 title win under her belt and a dream face-off with her childhood idol, Unnati Hooda is no longer just a promising youngster—she's a rising force in international badminton. view comments Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
