Former national shuttler Chong Wei Feng feels Malaysia may lose out on its men’s singles talents if they are chopped from the national team too early.
Drawing from his own experience, Chong, now 38, explained every shuttler will peak at different stages of their career.
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“It’s quite hard for them to peak at the age of 20 or 21. Even I started playing better at 24 or 25. You cannot expect everyone to be like Alex (Lanier) or Alwi (Farhan) or other juniors who peak really early.
“In fact, Zii Jia is also the same because he has a good attacking game and shot up the system fast. Not everyone has a good smash like him. This lack of talent didn’t happen last year, but four or five years ago. Perhaps BAM didn’t plan well and now there is a lack of players,” Chong told New Straits Times https://www.nst.com.my/sports/badminton/2026/02/1370979/what-causes-malaysias-decline-mens-singles-watch.
The former shuttler was referencing the lack of talents within the national squad, where players with potential were dropping out of the system due to measures taken by the national association.
Chong’s comments come after the Badminton Association of Malaysia had last year decided to revert the age group of the national junior programme to 14-18.
Prior to this, the national junior age group selection was set at 16 to 18-years-old in 2023, as compared to the previous system where shuttlers were recruited from across the country as early as 13.
The new criteria, however, failed to bear any positive outcome as the national junior shuttlers failed to impress at international competitions.
Currently, Justin Hoh is the young men's singles star in the national team. But at 21, he has yet to reach his full potential and there is belief that he will improve with age.
