END OF THE ROAD...
BAM accept technical director Frost’s decision to resign
FABIAN PETER fabian.mark@nst.com.my
THE BA of Malaysia (BAM) are in no hurry to replace technical director Morten Frost, after accepting the latter’s sudden resignation yesterday.
A new structure — where all five head coaches report directly to the Coaching and Training (C&T) committee — was agreed upon at the committee’s meeting at the Academy Badminton Malaysia.
BAM president Datuk Seri Norza Zakaria, who is also C&T chairman, made the announcement, saying the Dane chose to leave on his own, citing personal reasons as the justification behind his shocking decision.
Frost, who is leaving the national body for the second time — after an earlier stint in the late 90s — was hired in 2015 by the sports ministry and has a contract that was to run until 2020.
“At the moment, we are not looking into hiring a new technical director following the departure of Morten Frost. THE new scratch partnership of Goh V Shem-Teo Ee Yi and Tan Wee Kiong-Ong Yew Sin for the French and Bitburger Opens next month is a temporary decision, the BA of Malaysia (BAM) said yesterday,
Following the Coaching and Training (C&T) committee meeting yesterday, chairman Datuk Seri Norza Zakaria said the BAM had decided to split 2016 Rio Olympic Games silver medallists V Shem-Wee Kiong, after the duo failed to find a solution to their partnership woes.
As a result, they will be tested with their new partners in Europe next month, a decision made after discussions with men’s doubles head coach Cheah Soon Kit.
“The decision to split V ShemWee Kiong is definitely a long term move, but we are only testing them with Ee Yi and Yew Sin. We cannot confirm if they will be paired for good after this.
“Head coach Soon Kit has a few other pairs to work with to come up with the best combination,” said Norza, who is also the BAM president.
The other Malaysian men’s doubles in the squad are Chooi Kah Ming-Low Juan Shen and Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani.
After becoming World No 1 last year, V Shem-Wee Kiong suffered a huge dip in form and failed to get past the quarter-final stage in all competitions this year.
The final nail in the coffin was when the pair crashed out in the second round of the World Championships in Glasgow, Scotland last month.
V Shem also revealed recently that he had given up on his partnership with Wee Kiong.
Other matters that were discussed at the C&T meeting — apart from the shocking resignation of technical director Frost after just two years into the job — include a new reward incentive for players, who meet their Key Performance Indicator.
BAM will also have a new state of the art gymnasium, which costs RM500,000, ready by the end of next month. Fabian Peter