KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 10 ― Former Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) technical director Morten Frost Hansen says Malaysia can expect an uphill battle at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in efforts to equal their three silver medal haul in the previous Olympics.

This due to the fact that two of the three medalists at the Rio 2016 Olympics have quit BAM to become professional players in recent months.

Mixed doubles pair Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying quit in December 2018, while top men's doubles pair Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong quit on January 1, 2019.

Both pairs were silver medalists at the Rio 2016 Olympics. Datuk Lee Chong Wei won the third silver in the men's singles.

“I think it's very important to create a win-win situation for the players and the country. How it happens is entirely up to them and I'm not at liberty to comment too much on this,” said Frost on the exodus of players from BAM.

Malaysia are banking heavily on badminton to deliver medals at the Olympics especially the elusive gold medal.

Since Frost's departure in September 2017, BAM only recently hired his replacement in former World No. 1, Wong Choong Hann who began work on January 1 this year.

With Datuk Lee Chong Wei turning 37 this year and still recovering from nose cancer, Malaysia's failure to win a medal at the 2018 Asian Games for the first time in 32 years and none of the players winning a major title in the 2018 season, Choong Hann has a tough task in making sure Malaysia are contenders in Tokyo.

When Frost was asked what he felt of Choong Hann's appointment as his replacement he said:

“Having known him for many years I have no doubt he will do a good job. For him there is no such thing as office hours. He will work around the clock,” Frost said.

“But one also has to accept that other nations are also working hard and there's talent all around the world. 

“Just because you work hard doesn't mean you deserve to win. Twenty years ago you wouldn't imagine seeing a Spanish female women's singles champion (Carolina Marin) but now there is.

“The competition around the world is so much greater that now it's all about who's got the best ability at the end of the day,” he  told reporters after an event to promote the “Pocket Spine Doc” app which is a free app for those who need help with back aches and slip discs of which Frost is an ambassador.

Asked what Malaysia can do to ensure they're in the best shape heading to Japan, the 61-year-old said: “It'll depend on how well they've prepared.

“A lot can happen in 18 months and looking back, our success in Rio was down to us being very well prepared.

“At the moment it looks a little bit difficult to challenge for medals but as we get close to 2020 I believe the players will start peaking.”

Currently, Frost is doing commentary for Badminton World Federation (BWF), the world governing body for badminton, and is in Malaysia for the Perodua Malaysia Masters to be held at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil from January 15-20.

He's not looking to get back into coaching for the foreeseable future.