AN EMOTIONAL DECISION
Is Chong Wei the best choice as chef de mission?
IT was a great tribute and honour to name the retired Datuk Lee Chong as the chef de mission for the Tokyo Olympics next year.
I personally thought it was the best thing to offer this illustrious badminton legend for all his sacrifices that he made to bring glory to the nation. And sadly he was forced to retire without realising his Olympics golden dream because of illness.
But as an afterthought and weighing the announcement to name Chong Wei as the chef de mission by Sport Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman during a press conference last Wednesday, it left me wondering if it was the right and wise decision.
To begin with, the announcement by the sports minister was a case of putting the cart before the horse.
It is learnt that the appointment of the chef de mission for the Tokyo Olympics was not discussed and endorsed by the Olympics Council of Malaysia (OCM) executive board. All this while, the OCM is the sole body responsible for the appointment of chefs de missions for games.
However, the decision to appoint Chong Wei was said to have been endorsed after the OCM’s executive council meeting only on Saturday before their Annual General Meeting.
OCM president, Datuk Seri Mohamad
Norza Zakaria, was quoted as saying after the executive council meeting: “We have endorsed Chong Wei as chef-demission for Olympics. We know he might face some difficulties in Tokyo, so we will assign officials to assist him.”
The fact of the matter is that the sports minister did not propose to OCM to name Chong Wei (which should have been the case) but instead announced the appointment last Wednesday.
Thus, it is obvious Chong Wei’s appointment was not discussed earlier, but was decided by a few individuals who probably thought that it was the most popular decision to make.
The process of appointment aside, Chong Wei probably accepted the chef de mission responsibility and not turning it down, out of respect.
As he had clearly stated over and over in his retirement announcement that it was solely because of his health, I wonder whether he will be up to it to take the hectic chef de mission role.
He will have to liaise with many people, look into many matters. What about preparing reports after the Games? Things could be really demanding and draining in Tokyo, these are of concern to his health.
Would it not have been better to honour Chong Wei by naming the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) Academy in his name, which will stand the test of time and remind fans of his exploits. A perfect legacy to his great career.
It would have also been better to name Chong Wei as the badminton team manager to the Tokyo Olympics, which will be less hectic on him and give him the full platform to motivate the badminton players and dedicate more of his time to them as he tries to realise Malaysia’s Olympic dream of winning the nation’s first Olympic gold through his team.
It is still not late to make amends to this rather hasty decision to name Chong Wei as the chef de mission.
He can choose to play a different role instead of agreeing to be the chef-de-mission, one that makes full use of his unique expertise, and not at the expense of his health.
The retired Nicol David is worth considering as the other alternative. After all, the squash legend in an eight-time world champion over a 20-year career.
The 35-year-old Nicol, in announcing her retirement recently, had done so without fanfare. And she has an illustrious career with 81 PSA titles from 102 finals and held the World No 1 spot for a record 109 months, consecutively from 2006 to 2015.
Recognised as the greatest female squash athlete of all time, Nicol would certainly be a great candidate for the Tokyo Olympics.
Of course, some will be quick to point out that Chong Wei was a three-time Olympic silver medallist and Nicol is not an Olympian.
But through no fault of her own, Nicol did not have an opportunity to compete for an Olympic medal as squash has yet to gain entry to the Games.
After all, several Malaysian chefs de mission for the past Olympics were not Olympians.
Nicol has campaigned tirelessly for several years to get her sport into the Olympic Games and has been hailed as a “wonderful ambassador ”, “living legend” and “role model” by her peers.
Sadly, squash did not come aboard the Olympic Games. She so much wanted to compete in the Olympics till the extent of saying: “I would give up my seven World Open Squash titles for just one Olympic gold — so I still hope I can have something to look forward to if squash is given that chance to be included in the Olympics in 2020.”
What better way than to reward Nicol with the honour to be the Tokyo Olympics chef-de-mission?
Besides, if given the honour, she would be Malaysia’s first woman chef-de-mission for the Olympics and what a powerful boost and inspiration for women in sports.
The writer was a former journalist who has covered Malaysian sports for nearly 40 years