By Dev S. Sukumar
Kuala Lumpur : Indians are the third largest ethnic group in Malaysia, comprising 7.2 percent of the country’s total population of 26.9 million. But there are no Indian faces in its badminton team.
Not even the example set by 1974 All England finalist Punch Gunalan, it seems, is sufficient to inspire them to take up the sport.
Long-time watchers of the game say a curious cultural reluctance to invest in the sport affects the Indian community’s participation in tough disciplines like badminton.
Subramanian Manickam, an events executive with the International Badminton Federation (IBF) and head of a badminton programme for the Indian community, is one of those grappling with its cultural disaffection for most sporting activity.
“The first question we’re asked by Indian parents is whether their children will become world champions,” he laughs.
“It takes at least two years for a rank junior to evolve into a competent player. How do they expect us to answer that question? They probably look at sports as yet another qualification for a job.
“The Chinese, on the other hand, send their kids to all sports. Eventually, they concentrate on one discipline. That’s how they are able to dominate badminton,” he added.
The success of the Malaysian Chinese community has re-ignited interest in badminton in the country.
World number two Lee Chong Wei was one of those responsible, with a hat-trick of victories at the prestigious Malaysian Open.
Others, such as world’s second ranked men’s doubles pair Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong, have revived the country’s flagging interest in the game with wins in high-profile Super Series events.
“It’s a question of having heroes,” says A. Devaraj, who has been writing about badminton for the country’s leading newspaper The New Straits Times for 18 years.
“When the Sidek brothers won the Thomas Cup for Malaysia in 1992, the game became popular among the Malay community. The Indians haven’t had any big names since Punch Gunalan and James Selvaraj in the 1970s.”
Gunalan has been the most prominent of Malaysian Indians in badminton.
He was one of the world’s best players, having lost a tough All England final in 1974 to the legendary Indonesian Rudy Hartono, and heading his country’s Thomas Cup campaigns.
After his retirement, he became the national coach and is now recognised as the de-facto IBF boss, although he is officially only its deputy president.
Others of his generation, such as James Selvaraj and P. Kantharupan, have been prominent Indian representatives of the country.
Since then, however, few Indians have represented Malaysia in badminton.
The last decade saw names such as Ramesh Nathan, Yogendran Krishnan and Anita Raj Kaur but they have failed to make a mark on the international scene.
Manickam, a 1994-95 national junior player, is a badminton coach at the University of Malaya and set up a programme in concert with the Malaysian Indian Congress in March last year.
He has managed to attract 70 Indian students to the Puchong Community Sports Centre, where badminton training is imparted twice a week. It’s going to be a long haul, he says, adding: “We need a programme like this in every state.”
He has already roped in sponsors and is even planning to start a full-fledged academy.
Others in the community believe the country’s pro-Malay policy has put the Indians off sports.
“They were active in football, hockey and badminton. But over the last few years they’ve been asking what they’ve got out of it.”