CHEF DE MISSION LOOKS BACK AT GOLD COAST MISSION
The national contingent have come under criticism for failing to meet the top 10 target at the recent Commonwealth Games amid a haul of seven gold, five silver and 12 bronze. Chef de Mission Huang Ying How speaks with NSTP Sport’s Ajitpal Singh
Question: Despite not meeting the top 10 target, are you happy with the overall performance of the Malaysian contingent?
Answer: I was never focused on numbers from the start. I am happy with the overall performance of our contingent.
I am also glad that badminton delivered two gold through Lee Chong Wei (men’s singles) and Chow Mei Kuan-Vivian Hoo (women’s doubles).
Chong Wei bounced back from the team disappointment while Mei Kuan-Vivian played a solid game in the final. However, I am disappointed that we missed gold medals in some events in diving and rhythmic gymnastics. Pandelela Rinong finished fourth in the women's 10m platform (individual) while gymnast Koi Sie Yan missed the clubs title by just 0.1 point.
Overall, we had good performances and some disappointments.
Q: How important was Chong Wei's victory in the men's singles final for Malaysia's sixth gold medal?
A: Chong Wei played the current World No 1 K. Srikanth, who was oozing with confidence, in the final, and he turned the tables on the India shuttler.
I think our fans also played a huge role in Chong Wei’s victory. We brought our national rugby team to the badminton venue to support Chong Wei and they, along with the other fans, gave the shuttler the added push to succeed.
Q: What were the other highlights in the Gold Coast?
A: Weightlifting performed well with a gold medal each from Azroy Hazal Wafie Izhar Ahmad (56kg) and Aznil Bidin (62kg) while sprinter Zaidatul Husniah unexpectedly made it to the women's 100m semi-finals.
Cyclist Shah Firdaus Sahrom showed promise when he upset world champion Matt Glaetzer of Australia and eventually finished fourth in men's sprint. Compatriot Farina Shawati also did well by finishing fourth in women's keirin on her first outing. Both cyclists are still young and they have a good future as long as they continue to make breakthroughs. Squash player Nafiizwan Adnan, together with the men's 4x100m quartet, swimmer Tern Jian Han, table tennis doubles Ho Ying-Karen Lyne and the rhythmic gymnasts Q: Were you happy with the support services provided to the athletes?
A: We had two doctors, seven physiotherapists, four soft tissue therapists and five performance analysts along with one psychologist and one physiologist to provide sports science and medical support services to the Malaysian contingent.
They were excellent. Athletes requiring recovery work were looked after accordingly.
Q: Are you satisfied with the performances of team sports?
A: Overall, the men's hockey team did good. They bounced back to beat Scotland 2-1 to finish fifth, which was an improvement from the seventh placing at the 2014 Glasgow edition.
The women's basketball team matched their 2006 (Melbourne) achievement by finishing seventh. They managed to win a match against a higher-ranked India. They were, however, lacking in rebound situations and this problem should be worked on.
Q: What are your recommendations for upcoming priority competitions?
A: A periodisation plan for each athlete should be tailored to ensure they peak accordingly when it matters. Back-to-back competitions or immediate tournaments before the Commonwealth Games could have possibly induced fatigue, mental tiredness and injury.
We need to make a decision in the future whether the Commonwealth Games is priority or not as there were many competitions in some sports before the Gold Coast assignment. This could have added pressure on the athletes to perform in all competitions.
Q: Malaysia had chances to win more than seven gold but some athletes could not deliver. What are the reasons for this?
A: We had a good number of athletes qualifying for the finals in diving and shooting while we had many quarter-finalists in lawn bowls. However, they could not finish on the podium.
A thorough study must be conducted by the National Sports Council and the National Sports Institute to identify their shortcomings and ways to increase possibilities of delivering.
Several shooters made the finals of their respective events, but their overall performance was not satisfactory as only bronze was won.
We are also upset with diving as the divers could not deliver more than one gold and two bronze despite having no problems qualifying for the finals of most events.
We could have won four more gold medals and finish top seven overall had the athletes performed accordingly.