[VIDEO] M'sians Defend National Badminton Players For Shy Interview After Championship Win
Haikal Nazri and Choong Hon Jian won the Guwahati Masters 2023 men's doubles title in India on Sunday, 10 December.
By May Vin Ang — 14 Dec 2023, 11:15 AM
National shuttlers Haikal Nazri and Choong Hon Jian have won the Guwahati Masters 2023 men's doubles title in Assam, India on Sunday, 10 December
The duo, who were only paired up in August, defeated Lin Bing Wei and Su Ching Heng of Taiwan 21-17, 23-21 in the final.
This marks their second consecutive title win after their triumph at the 2023 Syed Modi International badminton championship in Lucknow last week.
According to The Star, national coach Poh Chai Boon said the duo has begun to settle down playing together as a pair, which will boost their confidence in future tournaments.
"Their overall performance in the last two weeks shows that they have gained their 'match temperament' and this will take them far," said Poh.
However, instead of congratulating the players, some Malaysians criticised the pair's post-match interview on social media
According to the New Straits Times, some questioned their ability to speak English.
A comment on Facebook read, "Just watched the interview where the Indian TV host, who obviously does not know Bahasa Melayu, interviewed them. Both players seemed lost. They are not to be blamed, but our education system has failed them."
A one-minute clip of the interview shows the interviewer asking the champions in English how they feel about the win.
Haikal answers, "Alhamdullilah. Of course, we're very happy. It wasn't easy for me. But we got back-to-back titles. I hope next year there will be more to come."
When the interviewer directs the microphone towards Choong, he can be seen shyly declining to answer and looking over to Haikal to reply, causing them to break into laughter.
Even though the interview received mixed reactions, fans came to the players' defence
"At least what Haikal answered is true to the point. Short summary and clear. Nothing to be ridiculed and laughed at," said an X user.
Another said, "Kudos to both Haikal and Choong! Nothing to be ashamed about. His first word matters the most: Alhamdulillah."
"This is so cute. Aduhai, maybe they look so awkward because it was their first time winning back-to-back like that," said another netizen.
Meanwhile, Haikal said he is unfazed by the interview and is looking forward to a well-deserved break with his family
"Is it a big problem? No, I'm not troubled by things like this," he told the New Straits Times when asked about the video.
"It looked somewhat comical, because Hon Jian didn't want to speak and kept looking at me. I found that funny.
"But on a serious note, it's not a big issue. My focus is on my playing career," he added.
