TALENT must go hand in hand with hard work to achieve success, says national badminton player Chan Peng Soon.
Chan gave this piece of advice to all the aspiring young players, during the ‘Swing That Racquet with Chan Peng Soon’ programme at the Permata Sports Complex, Air Itam today.
He said he hoped that the two-day programme (Feb 27 & 28) would be instrumental in making more children interested in badminton.
“If you have talent, do not think that it is enough. You must work hard indeed.
“Today I saw one of the participants, a seven-year-old boy who showed a lot of potential. He was able to receive the shots beautifully.
“If an individual has talent and does not work hard, he or she cannot go far.
“I have seen how hard Datuk Lee Chong Wei, my senior, trained. He did it intensively and that is the attitude of a world champion,” added Chan.
Air Itam assemblyman Joseph Ng said the programme was organised by his service centre as a school holiday activity for children aged from seven to 12, as well as to equip them with basic badminton skills.
Ng said it attracted some 200 children from the Air Itam neighbourhood. It is learned that the participants were also given free T-shirts.
“I have allocated RM9,500 for the programme and we also have our strategic partner, Protech sponsoring the shuttlecocks.
“We have rented the Permata Sports Complex in Air Itam which has nine courts and the programme is conducted by the coaches from CPS Academy.
“The most important thing is to have the presence of Chan over here to inspire them,” Ng said, adding that Chan himself is an Air Itam boy.
Chan’s best achievement was winning the silver medal in the mixed doubles event at the 2016 Rio Olympics with Goh Liu Ying, another high-profile Malaysian shuttler.
Story by Tanushalini Moroter
Pix by Pix by Muhamad Amir Irsyad Omar