Before we climb aboard the hype train, it’s worth considering: is it time to worry about Malaysian squash that is ironically on the up?

Are we really measuring the astonishing triumph of our men and women players at the Asian Games?

Or will it be a case of nothing else matters than the three gold medals squash contributed to Malaysia’s five top finishes so far at the Games?

It’s time to face up to the reality that our squash is at a critical crossroads.

Let’s face it: squash, a non-Olympic sport, is the stepchild of Malaysian sports.

I fear we’re going to blow this golden opportunity and, yet again, fail to do justice to the talent and commitment of both established and budding players.

There are serious fundamental issues with the whole structure of Malaysian sports, and the frustratingly common story is the limited funding from the national sports council (NSC).

Strangely, squash continues to bear the brunt of funding despite the country’s good showing in the global arena, while the underperforming sports profit.

When the Squash Racquets Association of Malaysia (SRAM) got going on its own, it got smashed.

For one, the Inland Revenue Board (LHDN) refused a tax rebate to CIMB Foundation that underpinned junior development for over 15 years. Every member of the team at Hangzhou is a CIMB baby.

Squash was thought to be an elitist sport, and that silly view has now put the CIMB programme in jeopardy.

CIMB Foundation funding for squash has fallen from RM1.6 million to barely RM400,000 per year, a 75% drop as a result of LHDN’s policy, which has not only affected squash but all sports that receive funding of this type.

Nothing like ignorance to demolish years of social and sporting progress. Nothing like stupidity to foil a corporate endeavour to build champions.

When CIMB Foundation was informed by LHDN that they could not claim a tax break for the junior development programme, they appealed to then finance minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz.

The former CIMB CEO, who is an avid squash player, turned it down. Blind football, tennis and basketball were also affected by that decision.

Junior development suffered another blow when an initiative under the higher education ministry and SRAM did not take off.

Universiti Malaya (UM) was to be the centre of excellence under the programme, but its sports directorate did nothing for three years. That was almost RM200,000 per annum gone.

Doing it on their own

There was a time when a SRAM head coach and general manager used to drop players from top squads if they decided to further their education.

That changed when past SRAM presidents Huang Ying How and Nik Razeen Adam Daud made it a core initiative to ensure as many of the young players received some form of tertiary education.

CIMB Foundation gave Hangzhou Asian Games gold medallists S Sivasangari and Ng Eain Yow overseas university scholarships so that they could get both the best training possible and a university degree.

A quick mind is as essential as physical attributes, and at least 50 Malaysian players, past and present, have benefitted from full scholarships from universities in the United States. As students, many have played squash for universities such as Yale, Cornell, Harvard, George Washington and Trinity.

With every new challenge they have faced, they learned and adapted well, unlocking new qualities against some of the best squash players in the world.

The Malaysian team at Hangzhou was brilliant, justly reaping the rewards after years of sacrifice. Their craving for honours runs so deep that even bureaucracy and flagrant insensitivity to the importance of sports as a nation-builder cannot stand in their path.

When you compare the amount of time they dedicate to representing the nation – and the subsequent benefits they receive – with that of politicians, who serve for three or four years and do nothing to bring glory to Malaysia, it is shameful.

Those pensions for politicians should be diverted to sportspeople like the victorious Asian Games squash players in their later years.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.