End of the road
BAM confirm V Shem and Wee Kiong’s split
There’s no point trying to force something that doesn’t work.
Morten Frost
KUALA LUMPUR: The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) have split up the Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong partnership.
They will be paired up with younger partners. BAM technical director Morten Frost confirmed yesterday that the partnership of the 2016 Rio Olympic Games silver medallists has been broken up.
The split was expected as Wee Kiong had travelled to Vietnam on Thursday to hold final discussions with national men’s doubles head coach Cheah Soon Kit about his new partner while V Shem had declared on Thursday that he had given up on their partnership.
Although Frost did not name their likely partners, Malaysian Masters runners-up Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin Rumsani could come into the equation.
Frost said that splitting up V Shem-Wee Kiong was the best option although there would be a domino effect in terms of changes within the men’s doubles department.
“We (Soon Kit and I) have had discussions with them. Both players have agreed to the split, but they’re not quitting the sport,” said Frost after a training session at the Juara Stadium in Bukit Kiara.
“The World Championships (in Glasgow, Scotland last month) was their final platform to impress but they failed.”
The former world No. 1 lost in the second round to a scratch Korean pair – Chung Eeu-seok-Kim Duk-young – at the world meet.
“This is the best option. There’s no point trying to force something that doesn’t work,” said Frost.
“We have worked hard with this doubles pair and turned every possible stone to revive their fortunes, but it’s simply not working.”
Frost said they would name the new partners for V Shem and Wee Kiong during BAM’s coaching and training committee (C&T) meeting on Sept 18.
“Soon Kit and I feel the same about pairing up V Shem and Wee Kiong with younger partners. It’s a gamble that we’re willing to take,” said Frost.
“We’ve not made any decisions yet, but once everything is finalised at the C&T, the new partnerships will probably be put to the test at the French Open, Bitburger Open (in Germany), Macau Open, China Open and Hong Kong Open.”