Youth can hold court
Misbun urges youngsters to stamp their mark on Thomas Cup
Datuk Misbun Sidek has seen it all as a badminton coach since Malaysia last won the Thomas Cup in 1992. But one thing still gives him goosebumps – seeing youngsters come of age in the premier team event. Yesterday, Misbun left for Bangkok, Thailand, on the first day of Ramadan with a clarion call to the young shuttlers to stamp their mark on the Thomas Cup Finals starting on Sunday. “I was the coach for Rashid Sidek in 1992. The team had young players too but we defeated giants like China and Indonesia,” said Misbun.
KUALA LUMPUR: As a badminton coach, Datuk Misbun Sidek has seen it all since Malaysia last won the Thomas Cup 26 years ago.
But one thing still gives him the goosebumps – seeing youngsters come of age in the premier team event.
And yesterday, Misbun left for Bangkok, Thailand – on the first day of Ramadan with the same glimmering hope – to see Malaysia’s young boys stamp their mark on the Thomas Cup Finals starting on Sunday.
The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) had taken a bold step to name more youngsters than usual in the team this year.
Shuttlers Lee Zii Jia (20), Leong Jun Hao (18), Aaron Chia (21), Soh Wooi Yik (20) are making their debuts.
The 25-year-old Teo Ee Yi was in the team with partner Ong Yew Sin at the 2016 edition in Kunshan, China, but did not play in any matches.
The others in the team in Bangkok are seasoned campaigner Lee Chong Wei, Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin, Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong and Mohd Arif Abdul Latif.
Misbun is hoping for something special in what could be his last Finals.
“I was the coach for Rashid Sidek in 1992. There were other coaches too. The team had young players too but we defeated giants like China and Indonesia,” said Misbun.
The other coaches then were Yang Yang, Han Jian, Chen Chengjie to mention a few.
The 24-year-old Rashid was one of the youngest players in the team but he played without any fear as the first singles player and there were heroics from the rest of the 1992 winning team – Foo Kok Keong, Razif-Jalani Sidek, Cheah Soon Kit-Soo Beng Kiang, Kwan Yoke Meng, Wong Ewe Mun and Rahman Sidek.
“The situation was different 26 years ago. Players had minimum facilities, they were not full-time trainees and did not earn much. The focus was only badminton,” said Misbun.
“The team used the 15x3 scoring format then. There were service overs. Now, it’s 21x3 rally scoring system. And maybe, after this, it will be the shorter version – 11x5 format.
“There are many changes but one thing remains the same in the Thomas Cup Finals – it’s the fighting spirit of the players and team oneness,” said Misbun.
The 58-year-old said what would make or break a team was their mental preparation.
“This is what we need to fine tune in Thailand. It’s the job of the coaches to shape the minds of the players – especially the younger ones.
“If we motivate the inexperienced players in the right way, they can do extraordinary things,” added Misbun.