NOT A ONE-MAN JOB
Rashid says it has to be a team effort to win gold in Tokyo Olympics
FORMER international Rashid Sidek said it is not entirely Wong Choong Hann’s responsibility to help Malaysia win the elusive Olympic gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Games.
Instead, he feels that it is up to the coaches and players to make it count.
On Saturday, the BA of Malaysia (BAM) announced the appointment of Choong Hann as the new coaching director in an effort to beef up the national squad.
Apart from working closely with all five head coaches, Choong Hann will have to come up with strategies to realise the national body’s age-old target of winning the Olympic gold.
Rashid, a former teammate of Choong Hann, said: “I applaud BAM’s decision to appoint Choong Hann as coaching director. It’s a breath of fresh air.
“As we know, Choong Hann is a guy with a lot of ideas. It will be interesting to see how he implements them.
“However, winning the Olympic gold is not his responsibility alone. It will depend on whether the current coaches and players can actually follow the new programmes that he will likely introduce.
“Apart from a few years of coaching experience, this is also something new for Choong Hann. Big shoes to fill for him.”
On BAM’s decision to hire a local head honcho instead of an established foreigner, Rashid added: “I believe it is because of commitments. Earlier reports had it that Rexy (Mainaky) may take up the offer but we know he is committed to the Thai national team, at least until the Olympics.”
Choong Hann’s arrival at the national camp will fill in the void left by Denmark’s Morten Frost, who was BAM technical director from 2015-2017.
When contacted on Sunday, Choong Hann, a former World No 1, expressed his eagerness to begin work immediately, although his contract only requires him to start on Jan 1.