PHNOM PENH, May 13 — The psychological aspects of athletes will be the focus of the Malaysian Wushu Federation in facing the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games scheduled to start in September.
Its president Datuk Chong Kim Fatt said that based on the performance of the national wushu athletes at the 2023 SEA Games here, he found a lack of self-confidence resulted in most athletes failing to put on a consistent performance.
Due to this weakness, some athletes who had the potential to win gold medals faltered when they made inappropriate mistakes that affected the collection of points.
“For events that combine disciplines, apart from skills and stamina, psychological strength is also important. We find that from a psychological point of view, it is a bit lacking, this is a critical issue for us and it should be improved.
“After this, we will continue to prepare a team for the Asian Games, there are also events that combine disciplines, so I will bring this problem to MSN (National Sports Council), ISN (National Sports Institute) because psychology is important to gain self-confidence, ” he told Bernama.
At the same time, Chong expects more help and support from MSN to ensure the federation can unearth more back-up athletes to be polished, ahead of the 2027 SEA Games which will see Malaysia as the host.
At the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand, he expects the line-up of national athletes who will compete, especially those who have won medals, to be able to achieve better success.
In the meantime, the national wushu squad also needed the touch of a full-time coach from China considering that the countries that achieved better success here, all used the services of coaches from the republic.
“We want a coach from China not because he is good but because it is akin to teaching our own children, it is difficult for us to teach them but others can teach our children because they listen to the reprimands given, that is a tradition in our sport,” Chong said.
Overall, the national wushu squad brought home two gold, two silver and five bronze medals at the 2023 SEA Games with Tan Cheong Min stealing the limelight after winning the women’s Nanquan and women’s Nandao + Nangun gold on her debut.
— Bernama
