Sports commentators play a crucial role in a match broadcast because their knowledge of the sport helps viewers understand the game better and enjoy the show. However, one local sports commentator received tons of flak for his remarks about national badminton player Lee Zii Jia (李梓嘉).
The commentator in question is Astro Arena’s Hj Zainal Abidin Rawop, one of the senior sports commentators under the broadcasting company. The backlash started earlier this week when Lee Zii Jia played in the qualifying rounds of the 2024 Paris Olympics in a match against Spain’s Pablo Abian. In the video, the commentator criticised the athlete on several issues unrelated to the game.
One of the things Zainal spoke about was Lee Zii Jia allegedly giving the media the cold shoulder before heading to Paris. The commentator then seemingly told the 26-year-old off, warning him not to avoid the journalists trying to improve his image. In addition, the media personality also praised Pablo and cheered for him when the Spaniard scored against the Malaysian.
Following the match, many netizens and badminton fans took to social media to criticise the commentator for his lack of professionalism. Many argued that Zainal seemed to have a personal vendetta towards Lee Zii Jia, thus making comments that weren’t significant to his skills or the game. Some netizens even said the commentator seemed so biased against the national shuttler that he was willing to cheer for the opponent.
In the meantime, Lee Zii Jia has made it to the quarter-finals for the men’s single. He’ll go against Denmark’s Anders Antonsen for a spot in the semi-finals – leading fans to call for Astro Arena to assign other commentators for the next game. What are your thoughts about this?
Listen to Zainal’s commentary on the Lee Zii Jia-Pablo Abian match below:
Sources: YouTube, Twitter (1)(2)(3)
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