Saviours of different kinds rising up to give Malaysian sport hope

FROM his hair to his honesty, Kim Pangon continues to stand out as Malaysia’s football head coach.

Any other coach will be pulling his hair out after losing to Oman twice in the World Cup 2026-Asian Cup 2027 second round qualifier despite several challenges but not South Korean Pangon.

The squad lost their Group D match 0-2 to Oman in Muscat last week and last Tuesday, fell again with the same score during the return leg at home in Bukit Jalil.

Instead of pointing his fingers at others, Pan-gon has come to the rescue of his players again.

The Harimau Malaya players did not have enough competitive action and were lacking in match fitness as the M-league had not started. It would only begin in May, which meant that not many of them were prepared for the big battle.

Then, there was also the pitch problem.

Malaysia are the hosts but they did not even get a chance to train at the National Stadium as the pitch was not ready – not until the match day.

Both sides struggled in their battle on the far-from-perfect pitch and one Malaysian player paid a heavy price for a hard tackle – Azam Azmi Murad.

He limped out with a knee injury and the youngster is set to be ruled out of the important AFC Under-23 Asian Cup in Doha, Qatar, next month.

Pan-gon could have blamed the pitch or he could have taken a swipe at his own players. He could even have blamed the defeat on the weather here. But he didn’t.

Although he knows the disparity in the standard between the two teams and his own shortcomings, he chose to stand up and defend his players.

Pan-gon knows the amount of hard work the players had put in.

Let’s admit, our football still has some way to go to being one of the best in this region but there has been some progress – at least our world ranking has improved.

For the players, Pan-gon is akin to a saviour.

And we do need saviours like Pangon to give hope. If everyone gives up on Malaysian sport, who will be there to spark a revival?

The scenario is quite different in the case of cycling coach and veteran Ng Joo Ngan as he had others who came to his rescue.

It has been a painful week for the former national coach. He had been on the receiving end of remarks from disgruntled parents who had questioned his integrity and role as a coach. Those who knew Joo Ngan did not sit in silence. Many stood up for him. And he had promised to move on, to do what he does best – coaching the future champions.

The current cycling head coach John Beasley, though, continues to be the hero. Thanks to his guidance, veteran Azizulhasni Awang and Shah Firdaus Sahrom have confirmed their tickets for the Paris Olympic Games.

Beasley has done his part to transform the cycling scene in the country over the decades. He did not only produce calibre cyclists for the country, but has also instilled the selfbelief that our small-sized riders can stand tall with the giants from Europe.

In badminton, professional players yet again stepped up to save the blushes for the nation that is yearning for success in this sport.

Mixed pair Goh Soon Huat-shevon Lai Jemie finally ended their six-year wait for a title by winning the Swiss Open in Basel on Sunday.

It was only a Super 300 tournament but it was Malaysia’s first ‘’big’’ title this year.

And in fact, if not for the pros Lee Zii Jia and Goh Jin Wei, Malaysia would have had the smallest number of badminton representatives for the Olympic Games in Paris this year.

Debutants Zii Jia and Jin Wei have qualified for the men and women’s singles events for the Paris event while the other qualifiers are Badminton Association of Malaysia’s former world champions Aaron Chia-soh Wooi Yik (men’s doubles), Pearly Tan-m. Thinaah (women’s doubles) and Chen Tang Jietoh Ee Wei (mixed doubles).

Can the shuttlers and cyclists end Malaysia’s gold-medal wait at the Olympics? Can the Under-23 national football team even qualify for the Paris Games?

Honestly, it looks tough on paper. But it will be a hair-raising experience indeed if any one of them can pull off the unexpected.

The best we can do is just be hopeful.