BY: THE SPORTS FAN

Sports and games of any kind fosters a lot of fun, thrill and excitement and, not only that, it is seen as a way to receive high end entertainment and this is why Malaysians are considered as sports loving people.

But the ‘love’ seems to stop there as underneath this exciting surface lurks a lot of deadly evil and malaise that, if not careful, can cause the love to turn into an ugly scenario of hate and contempt for sportsmen and sportswomen.

Malaysian badminton player, Lee Zii Jia, is a classic example. Once touted as a promising player to step into the shoes of local badminton legend, Datuk Lee Chong Wei, he has failed to live up to expectations.

Zii Jia is no machine. While he started off showing much promise and potential, BAM officials and Malaysians fans heaped the pressure on him to do better than Chong Wei causing him to go off balance and withdraw into depression.

The same has happened to some other sportsmen and sportswomen and Malaysians must realise that they are human and not machines and must not go overboard, carried away and unrealistic in their expectations of them.

Sports should be about going out and enjoying your game and performing to the best of your ability and not about encountering racial slurs, condemnation and other hurtful and sensitive remarks that cause players to no longer love their game.

-THE MALAYSIA VOICE

** The views expressed on this opinion is of the writer and not the publisher