Nova gives thumbs up to joint sessions with BAM

Nova Armada is open to the Badminton Association of Malaysia’s (BAM) proposal to invite independent players to attend weekly matchplay sessions at the Akademi Badminton Malaysia (ABM) in Bukit Kiara.

The Indonesian coach trains independent trio Cheam June Wei, Soong Joo Ven (men’s singles) and Goh Jin Wei (women’s singles) at the Sports Affairs badminton academy.

The BAM had earlier issued an invitation to independent singles shuttlers in the world’s top 50 and doubles players in the top 30 to join weekly sparring sessions on Wednesdays (singles and doubles) and Fridays (doubles).

Those listed in the top five of the national ranking will also be considered.

Independent players who are interested in joining the sessions need to contact nationals singles coaching director Wong Choong Hann or national doubles coaching director Rexy Mainaky respectively by Monday.

Joo Ven (No. 50) and June Wei (No. 55) are both the country’s fourth and fifth ranked shuttlers in the world behind Lee Zii Jia (No. 2), Ng Tze Yong (No. 29) and veteran Liew Daren (No. 35).

Jin Wei, who had just climbed up eight rungs from No. 44 to No. 37 in the latest ranking, is the country’s No. 1 women’s singles player.

June Wei and Joo Ven are currently in talks with Choong Hann over the terms and conditions of the sessions.

“I’ve no issues with the proposal. When there are no tournaments, the players can join the sessions on Wednesdays.

“For Jin Wei though, her participation depends on her physical condition. Her training time under me is also not fixed as sometimes we start at eight or 10 in the morning or three in the evening. It depends on her fitness,” explained Nova.

Jin Wei, who underwent colectomy surgery in 2019, had earlier revealed that she could only have one meal per day (usually at night) due to her medication.

This causes her to have less energy in the daytime and thus, her training schedule needs to be managed accordingly.