KUALA LUMPUR – Like it or not, high-performance sports are all about results. Consequently, it is common practice for sports organisations and teams worldwide to periodically drop players and coaches.
Decisions to retain, promote, or even terminate an athlete or a coach are usually made carefully and meticulously, considering various factors such as performance data, tournament results, training progress, and budget constraints, among others.
In many ways, this is similar to an annual appraisal conducted in the corporate world.
Understandably, no one likes being on the receiving end of such news, just as much as it is difficult to be the one delivering it.
The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) recently dropped 13 players from the national senior squad at the Akademi Badminton Malaysia (ABM) as they prepare for the upcoming 2025-2028 Olympic cycle.
After unveiling a much leaner 34-member squad, the national body noted that several women’s doubles players may be let go before the year’s end, pending assessment by the new women’s doubles head coach.
ABM coaching director, Rexy Mainaky, explained why this process is necessary for any organisation.
“Firstly, we have to manage the numbers, because it’s not all about volume,” said Rexy.
“The decision to drop players is not something we make overnight. We don’t simply drop players because we think they’re not good enough.
“The coaches in each department propose a list of names after gathering data on the players’ progress in training, performance, and tournament results,” added Rexy, who believes some junior players may be promoted to the senior team after the World Junior Championships in Nanchang, China.
“If you look at our men’s and women’s singles departments now, we have four players each; ideally, we want six.
“Right now, we have players like Muhammad Faiq Haziq and Sng Wei Ming, who are still at the World Junior Championships. Subject to the new singles head coaches’ plans, we are likely to promote them to the senior squad.
“The same applies to the women’s singles. As for women’s doubles, we may retain all of them or drop some players. We will wait until the new head coach is in place,” Rexy explained.
Based on the new coaching structure announced on Tuesday, ABM has yet to finalise who will fill the men’s singles as well as women’s singles and doubles head coaching roles.
However, Rexy confirmed that former Danish head coach Kenneth Jonassen and Indonesia’s Mulyo Handoyo are among the leading candidates under consideration. — October 5, 2024