Being cruel to be kind
The proverb ‘more than one way to skin a cat’ probably applies to the Road to Gold (RTG) committee, who recently dropped the national hockey squad and a number of underperforming shuttlers from the programmes.
While they were right in their decision and probably made the popular decision, as teams and athletes have been told that their inclusion depends on current rankings.
Besides the hockey team, who failed to win the Hangzhou Asian Games gold and did not get past the group stage, badminton doubles pairs Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing and Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai have also been removed from the programmes due to their current ranking.
The decisions were made during the third RTG committee meeting, which was chaired by Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh.
Other members of RTG are co-chair Olympic Council of Malaysia President Tan Sri Norza Zakaria, Youth and Sports Ministry Secretary-General Dr K. Nagulendran; RTG Coordinator Datuk Stuart Ramalingam; ex-National Sports Council (NSC) Director-General Datuk Ahmad Shapawi Ismail (who may be replaced by currernt DG Abdul Rashid Yaakub); National Sports Institute chief executive officer Ahmad Faedzal Md Ramli; FA of Malaysia president Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin, the Paris Olympic Chef-de-Mission, Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) vice-president, Datuk Ahmad Najmi Abdul Razak, squash legend Datuk Nicol David, badminton legend Datuk Lee Chong Wei and hockey legend Datuk Mirnawan Nawawi.
The RTG was supposed to work with the existing Podium Programme, which focuses on the preparation programmes.
The RTG preparation programmes for elite athletes includes daily training, overseas training, including more exposure to domestic and international competitions, provision of coaching services, support staff, sports science and medical services, as well as self-improvement programmes.
The question is whether the decision to drop hockey, especially with the last chance to qualify for the Paris Olympics in January, either in Oman or Spain, is in the best interest of the team, particularly the morale of the players.
The additional RM3,000 allowance that the players were receiving under RTG was stopped after September, although the players still receive their allowance under the Podium programmes, which ranges between RM800 and RM4,000.
Afterall, the hockey players are poor cousins of football players who earn much more. RM3,000 to the hockey players means a great deal.
However, it has been reliably learned that support services for both hockey and badminton players are still being continued, and due credit goes to the RTG committee for making this decision.
But as to the withdrawal of the allowance, will it go down well with the players, although they knew the score that if they did not perform, it will be withdrawn.
However, was it for want of trying that they failed?
Maybe we need to look at the big picture.
Afterall, they had won the Sultan Raja Azlan Shah tournament last year when history was created when Malaysia beat Korea 3-2 to wrest the silverware for the first time after 29 editions in Ipoh. But critics dismissed the victory as an achievement in tournament which was the weakest in years.
Then, they had finished runners-up to India after taking a comfortable 3-1 lead but to go down 3-4 in the Asian Champions Trophy at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium in Chennai.
Hockey is also among the top world ranked (among top 15) team sports in the world as compared to other team sports.
Yes, we cannot tolerate non-performance in Hangzhou, but sometimes things happen.
Will the withdrawal of the allowance do more harm or good to the team?
There is the 6.9million budget for the RTG and all allowance has already beern factored in.
However, credit to the Malaysian Hockey Confederation, the team officials and players, as none of them complained of the withdrawal of the allowance and took it in their stride.
Let us not forget that Ahmad Najmi and Mirnawan are members of RTG.
Do they know something the public does not.
Whatever it is, maybe the RTG could have taken a different approach – maybe threw down the gaunlet, by telling the hockey team that if they qualified for the Olympics from the qualifiers in January, they would be remibursed their RM3,000.00 alowance which has been currently withdraw.
Maybe the RTG committee were more concerned about the brickbats they would receive from the media and public, if they continued with the allowance or threw the challenge.
Food for thought or have the RTG already thought of it?
Maybe the RTG need to stay positive and try another method of reaching their goal.
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