TO INCLUDE OR NOT TO

BAM to make decision on independent players in 48 hours

WITHIN the next two days, the BAM will have to make the right call on whether to include Aaron Chia, Soh Wooi Yik and Liew Daren for the Asian Games.

BAM president Datuk Seri Norza Zakaria stressed yesterday the importance of deliberating on several factors, including injuries before making a final decision.

World No 35 men’s doubles Aaron-Wooi Yik impressed in their debut at last week’s World Championships in Nanjing, China, when they reached the quarter-finals. Liew Daren, 31, defied the odds to win bronze, becoming only the third Malaysian men’s singles to win a World Championships medal, after Wong Choong Hann and Lee Chong Wei.

Norza said: “I have discussed with Datuk Ng Chin Chai (BAM Coaching and Training committee chairman), and we have always placed importance on performance.

“Therefore, we believe that Aaron-Wooi Yik and Liew Daren should be considered for the Asian Games. However, there are matters that need to be looked into first.

“In Aaron-Wooi Yik’s case, they have been registered to compete in the Vietnam Open (Aug 7-12). We are worried that it might affect their performance at the Asian Games, if we push them to play in back-to-back tournaments.

“They are still young and we don’t want to overdo it with them. We have to be very careful in making the right decision.

“In Daren’s case, Chin Chai will bring up the matter with Datuk Misbun Sidek (men’s singles head coach) first.

“If Daren is to be included, he will likely replace Soong Joo Ven or Cheam June Wei. Now, we will need to discuss with Daren as well, because as we know, he picked up an injury at the World Championships.

“Give us a couple of days to come up with the right decision.”