Malaysia's badminton takes the limelight at CAPAM

Badminton, the sport that Malaysia had high hopes of ending its first gold hunt in the Rio Olympic Games, took the limelight Thursday at the Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management (CAPAM) biennial conference here.

Key personalities attending the conference gave some works of encouragement to host country, Malaysia.

At the opening ceremony, the Commonwealth secretary-general Patricia Scotland in her keynote address said "rumours had it that Malaysia might actually get the gold."

"Let’s pray that happens.

"I would also take this opportunity to wish Malaysia well in badminton,” she said and was applauded by the delegates at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre (PICC) here today.

In his opening speech, Malaysia's Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak shared with the audience what King of Swaziland King Mswati III had whispered to him.

"I’m (King of Swaziland) confident if we stay in blue ocean strategy, Malaysia will eventually win the gold medal," Najib said on what transpired between them in that conversation.

Blue Ocean Strategy is a way of taking a different path from the norm and it also can be applied in sports.

Najib had stayed up late to watch the mixed double games final last night.

"Although sadly Malaysia did not win gold (last night), I stayed up to watch with my family,” he said.

Malaysian mixed pair Chan Peng Soon and Goh Liu Ying lost 14-21, 12-21 to the Indonesian pair of Ahmad Tontowi and Liliyana Natsir to settle for the silver medal.

Malaysian men’s double pair, Goh V. Shem-Tan Wee Kiong carry Malaysia’s hope to clinch first gold medal on Friday’s final. The pair will take on China’s Fu Haifeng-Zhang Nan.

Malaysia's badminton superstar Datuk Lee Chong Wei is another gold hopeful and will take on China’s Lin Dan in the men‘s single semifinals on Friday.