BAM CHIEF ISSUES WARNING
‘Entry and exit system’ for national players
BAM president Datuk Seri Mohamad Norza Zakaria has issued a stern warning to national players not to take it easy anymore. Instead, they need to buck up considering the present worrying situation of Malaysia’s international results.
Countries with no strong badminton tradition such as India, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Japan have shown better progress than Malaysia.
“For example, in the men’s singles, India has three players in the world’s top 20. But Malaysia only has one.
“In the men’s doubles, Indonesia has five pairs and Taiwan has three pairs in the world’s top 20 whereas Malaysia has only one pair.
“In the women’s singles, Taiwan has seven players in the world’s top 50 but Malaysia has only one player.
“In the women’s doubles, Malaysia has three pairs in the world’s top 50 while Japan has nine.
“Malaysia has three pairs in the world’s top 50 for mixed doubles, while Taiwan has six. Based on these statistics, it shows where we are at presently.”
Norza said such statistics are worrying unless the players realise the gravity of the situation and rise to do something about it.
“They need to know that the honeymoon period is over,” said Norza after chairing a BAM meeting yesterday.
To ensure that their players are kept on their toes, BAM will introduce an “entry and exit system” while not ruling out that players will be dropped and new faces brought in. The process will be carried out twice a year in February and August.
Norza announced yesterday the appointment of Datuk Lawrence Chan to help prepare the national squad for the Thomas and Uber Cups in Bangkok, in May next year.
BAM also recruited Frederick Tan, who previously served with the Penang state sports council as a psychology expert.
They need to know that the honeymoon period is over.” DATUK SERI MOHAMAD NORZA ZAKARIA