KUALA LUMPUR – The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) does not offer any special treatment to any of its coaches, regardless of their name and status.
Following this strict policy, BAM is set to review its coaches’ contracts next month.
Given the fact that no national singles player qualified for the Paris Olympics, the big question is whether any of the high-profile names, such as the Indonesian Hendrawan, Datuk Tey Seu Bock or James Chua, will remain in the national set-up.
Speculation has been rife since BAM posted an advertisement in May, seeking to hire a men’s singles coach for the elite squad.
BAM administration head Michelle Chai told Scoop recently that due to the Olympics this year, the review process would only start in August.
Since most of the coaches’ contracts run until the end of the year, the entire review process could take up to four months.
“The advert was for a men’s singles coach. Currently, we are just accepting applications and looking around; nothing has been decided yet,” said Michelle.
“We are preparing ourselves because we can’t wait and only start looking when we need to hire.
“The good thing is we have a system. Regardless of whether your name is Hendrawan, Rexy (Mainaky), Tey Seu Bock, K. Yogendran or James Chua, everyone goes through the same process.
“We are not treating any coach or coaches specially,” she said.
Additionally, Michelle emphasised the national body’s readiness to face all possible circumstances.
“Hypothetically speaking, what happens if we have to shut ABM (the national badminton academy) down and send all our players outside? We wouldn’t need to hire anyone, right?
“My point is we are not closing our doors to anything. Looking at things out there, we are prepared for all possible circumstances.
“Usually, we will start the review process maybe four, or four and a half months prior.
“Given it’s the Olympics now, some of the people involved are away. Most likely, we will begin our review in August,” added Michelle.
For the record, Seu Bock has been with BAM since 2002, while Hendrawan, a key figure in the rise of former world number one Datuk Lee Chong Wei, joined the coaching line-up in 2009.
Two other national singles coaches, Yogendran and James, were hired in 2021 and 2022 respectively. – July 25, 2024