Badminton in their veins

Badminton isn’t just a business but a passion for Lee Pui Yee and her father Michael Lee, the duo behind the first private badminton centre in the Klang Valley, writes Oon Yeoh

BADMINTON is Malaysia’s national sport. Practically every Malaysian child has played this game at one time or another; if not in a proper facility, in their back yards or front lawns or even out on the street. All you need are two racquets, a shuttlecock and you’re all set. But to play it properly, you need proper courts. Today, there are many badminton centres around but there was a time, not that long ago, when proper badminton facilities for the general public wasn’t common at all.

That started to change with the establishment of Michael’s Badminton Academy (MBA), the first private badminton centre in the Klang Valley.

Founded by badminton enthusiast Michael Lee, this academy is now run by his daughter and fellow badminton enthusiast, Lee Pui Yee.

WHAT DID YOU STUDY AND WHAT WERE YOU DOING BEFORE JOINING MBA?

I studied graphic design and upon graduation, I briefly worked in construction and renovation — that’s our other family business. But within a year, I moved on to MBA, which was more in line with what I wanted to do. My father is a keen recreational player, as I am too. You could say badminton runs in our veins.

IS IT TRUE THAT THERE WAS NO PRIVATE BADMINTON ACADEMY OR TRAINING CENTRE IN THE KLANG VALLEY PRIOR TO MBA?

Yes, before that there weren’t any private facilities like ours. People typically played badminton in makeshift courts on lawns or back yards or in school halls. There wasn’t any private badminton centres to speak of prior to 2002 (when MBA was founded).

I recall when I was young, we played badminton in front of our house using our front gate as the net. That meant one player was out on the road. Not exactly a safe way to play badminton. But that was what we had.

There was a badminton club in my school with about 50 students in it. The problem was there were only two courts so we didn’t get to play very much. My father saw all that and wanted to offer something better, for his children and for the general public, to come together and share the love of the game.

HOW MANY COURTS DID YOU HAVE WHEN MBA OPENED ITS FIRST CENTRE?

Our first centre was in Taman Megah and that place had 16 courts, which was unheard of in the Klang Valley or anywhere else in Malaysia at the time.

Two years later in 2004, we opened our second centre in Bandar Puteri, Puchong, and that one had 32 badminton courts. It was huge. That one earned us an entry into the Malaysia Book of Records for the largest badminton centre in Malaysia.

ARE THOSE CENTRES STILL OPEN?

No, in the past two years we’ve had to close both of those centres because of property development plans by the landlord. We still have two facilities but they’re in different places. One is in Bukit Puchong and the other is in Port Dickson.

Having to move was an opportunity for us to upgrade and modernise the facilities so in a way it’s a blessing in disguise. For example, our Bukit Puchong centre even has a hostel that can accommodate up to 30 guests.

YOUR ACADEMY CATERS FOR BOTH RECREATIONAL PLAYERS AND SERIOUS COMPETITORS. WHAT’S THE MAIN DIFFERENCE?

Recreational players typically come for training once a week whereas the more serious ones come three or four times a week. But whether recreational or competitive, we aim to train our players to be a “champion for life” — which is also our tagline.

What it means is that through their participation, we hope to instill in them the important values of teamwork, fair play, respect and adherence to the rules of the game.

DOES YOUR ACADEMY ALSO ORGANISE TOURNAMENTS?

We do but for recreational players. There are plenty of top level competitions for professional badminton players but we felt that recreational players had fewer options.

So we decided to organise recreational tournaments. Our first big one was in 2006 where we hosted a big international event attended by about 1,500 participants from 13 countries. This also earned us a place in the Malaysia Book of Records. We outdid ourselves in 2012 when we organised a competition that attracted some 2,500 participants.

WHAT OTHER ACTIVITIES DO YOU OFFER BESIDES TRAINING AND COMPETITIONS?

We have a travel programme which gives people the chance to experience different cultures and meet new friends in a badminton context — whether in the form of a friendly competition or a training camp.

We do both inbound and outbound so we’ve brought players from abroad to the country and vice-versa.

WHICH PLACES HAVE YOU BROUGHT MALAYSIAN BADMINTON PLAYERS TO?

Oh, so many. Taiwan, England, New Zealand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, China, Japan, South Korea and more. We’ll go wherever there are badminton activities.

DO YOU STILL PLAY BADMINTON REGULARLY?

Yes, of course. Badminton isn’t just a business but a passion for us. We founded this academy because of our love for the sport. I have a small group of friends whom I play badminton with every week.

IS THIS YOUR DREAM JOB?

It is. I really believe in the saying that if you do something you love, you’ll never have to work a day in your life. I have a job which keeps me very busy but it really doesn’t feel like work.