Juniors get to go international

AFTER waiting patiently for more than a year, the national junior shuttlers are finally set to see international action this season.

BA of Malaysia (BAM) president Tan Sri Norza Zakaria yesterday confirmed that 10 juniors will compete in next month’s Slovenia International Series and Austrian Open.

Norza said: “The council have decided to send 10 junior players to the Slovenia International Series on May 19-22 and the Austrian Open on May 27-30.

“The reason is to allow these juniors to fight alongside their seniors in these tournaments. We have also urged Datuk Misbun (Sidek) to identify and fast track these juniors to a higher level.”

For most of the juniors, their last international outings were the 2019 German and Dutch Juniors.

Meanwhile, Norza said the national body would need the green light from the National Security Council and the Health Ministry for fans to enter the Axiata Arena to watch the Malaysia Open on May 25-30.

“We have already put in our proposal and are awaiting their decision. If we are cleared, the Malaysia Open will then set the benchmark for future international events in the country.

“We have proposed a bubble tournament, a hybrid between the Asian Leg of the World Tour in Thailand and the recent European events. We will also model after the M-League to see how many fans are allowed into the stadium.

“For now, we are waiting to know more about the quarantine process for the foreign players and also the swab tests and how the SOPs will be implemented,” Norza added.