Malaysian Youth and Sports minister Khairy Jamaluddin believes that badminton should be regarded as the nation’s number one sport, judging by the country’s performance within the sport, over the last few decades or so.
Understandably, football is the more popular sport in Malaysia, but Khairy believes that popularity stems from the global appeal of the sport and it doesn’t reflect Malaysia at its’ finest.
“Football is not only very popular in Malaysia but in many other countries due to its global appeal. However, based on performance badminton is the number one sport here,” Khairy said during the Legends World Tour in the Kuala Lumpur Stadium yesterday.
Meanwhile, the most fans have conceded that national ace Lee Chong Wei is aging and many have been wondering if there was anyone that could follow the steps of Chong Wei in terms of bringing the nation’s name to greater heights in the international scene.
The gap between Malaysians Lee Chong Wei and Chong Wei Feng in the BWF World Rankings is too far apart and this had erupted concerns whether the players would improve. However, Khairy claims that Chong Wei’s successor might just be a female player.
“There are also upcoming players who can replace Datuk Lee Chong Wei. Even if not in the men’s category, players like Goh Jin Wei can emerge as the number one junior player in the world. And that can lift the pressure off Chong Wei’s shoulder,” he said.
Jin Wei’s young age and contribution so far had convinced the nation that there would be no end to Malaysia’s outstanding and consistent achievements in the near future and the fact that Malaysia can continue being one of the top countries in world of badminton.
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