BAM undecided on Goh-Tan’s fate

KUALA LUMPUR: The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) are still undecided on the future of men’s doubles pair Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong.

But the writing appears to be on the wall for the Olympic silver medallists.

V Shem-Wee Kiong have struggled to deliver results this season. They were big flops at the World Championships last month, crashing out in the second round to scratch South Korean pair Chung Eui-seok-Kim Duk-young.

The world No. 7 are also reportedly at odds with each other, further fuelling talks of a potential split.

And BAM president Datuk Seri Norza Zakaria has given the coaches and BAM technical director Morten Frost a week to decide on the pair’s future following a post-mortem meeting yesterday.

“V Shem-Wee Kiong went to the World Championships as the fifth seeds, but the performance they dished out is totally unacceptable,” said Norza.

“I do not accept any reasons for their defeat. I want Morten to discuss with coaches (Cheah) Soon Kit and Jeremy (Gan) and to decide whether or not to split them at the coaching and training committee meeting next week.”

Frost said they would come up with the best solution for V Shem and Wee Kiong.

“If we split them, it will be because we feel they cannot live up to our expectations and their own standards any more.

“But it takes two to tango. If they agree to move forward together and commit to the cause, they can probably still play very well.

“This is a decision that cannot be taken lightly. We need to make a good decision and do what’s best for the BAM,” said the Dane.

For now, V Shem-Wee Kiong are still slated to compete in the Korean Open from Sept 12-17 and the Japan Open from Sept 19-24.

The other pairs in the national set-up are Teo Ee Yi-Ong Yew Sin, Chooi Kah Ming-Low Juan Shen and Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani.