Sudirman Cup: Malaysia can hold head high despite quater-final loss - Ahmad Shapawi

National Sports Council (MSN) director-general Datuk Ahmad Shapawi Ismail said despite being disappointed with the loss, he commended the national badminton squad for not giving the South Koreans an easy win. READ ALSO: Malaysia knocked out of Sudirman Cup after 1-3 loss to South Korea

"We were successful in the early round and were disappointed at the quarter-finals, but I'm proud of the squad for not giving South Korea an easy win.

"I hope the national badminton squad will take on the challenges in other mixed team championships...do not let one defeat to break the team spirit. The target is to collect qualifying points for the Olympics," he told reporters after launching the Sports Affairs Badminton Academy at Menara CIMB in KL Sentral on Friday.

Malaysia lost to South Korea 1-3 in the quarter-finals on Thursday. The national squad had earlier beaten South Korea 3-2 in a group match.

The squad led by Datuk Lee Chong Wei emerged as group champions after defeating India 3-2 in the second group game. READ ALSO: Chong Wei displays impressive performance for Sudirman Cup - Khairy

Earlier Ahmad Shapawi in his speech said the country needed to hold more competitive badminton tournaments such as the Kopiko Purple League, which would be held for the first time in Malaysia.

"The Sports Affairs Badminton Academy is a private entity initiative to mobilise the development of badminton in the country with badminton clubs as well as the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM). They will also organise competitions and we welcome such efforts," he said.

Commenting on the decision of Sports Affairs Badminton Academy to appoint Rashid Sidek as singles chief coach and Rosman Razak as doubles chief coach for the club, Ahmad Shapawi said the decision was up to the coaches themselves.

"Rashid resigned from BAM on his own accord and we respect the stand of both coaches.