Ex-China supremo may join BAM

BA of Malaysia (BAM) have not ruled out the idea of hiring former China supremo, Li Yongbo, to helm the national team.

BAM president Datuk Seri Norza Zakaria, however, said any change to the current coaching structure will only be made after the Thomas and Uber Cup in Bangkok in May.

In fact, if things don't get better, Norza may even revert to the previous structure, which saw the national coaching set-up headed by a technical director.

Prior to the current system (which has a head coach for every department), Danish legend, Morten Frost was their technical director from 2015 till last year. Frost resigned, citing personal reasons.

Norza said yesterday: "Anything is possible. I am approaching my first anniversary as president, and to be honest, I have not seen much improvement since the Sudirman Cup last year.

"Three months from now, we will reassess the current head coach structure, and if it hasn't been effective, I may revert to bringing back a technical director."

Currently, BAM's five head coaches are Misbun Sidek (men's singles), Cheah Soon Kit (men's doubles), Tey Seu Bock (women's singles), Rosman Razak (women's doubles) and Chin Eei Hui (mixed doubles).

On Tuesday, former national coach Rashid Sidek urged BAM to recruit Yongbo, who quit the China national team last year after 24 years at the helm.

According to Rashid, Yongbo, known for his strict regime, has the ability to keep players and coaches in check.

This comes after Norza expressed his disappointment with the national players for their poor showing at the All England last week.