KUALA LUMPUR – Speculation has been rife for some time now that national men’s singles coach Hendrawan will not have his contract renewed by the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM).
However, will he be the only one affected?
It is understood that the national body is ready to part ways with a few more coaches, who are expected to be replaced by one or two foreign experts.
BAM acting president Datuk V. Subramaniam will meet the press tomorrow to address these questions.
When contacted by Scoop, Subramaniam, who is also the Selangor BA president, neither confirmed nor denied the speculation.
“Regardless of whether they are new coaches or existing ones, we need them to be disciplined, hardworking, and able to work without fear or favour.
“As I have mentioned to the press before, we could be looking at a possible restructuring, which we will announce tomorrow,” said Subramaniam.
Currently, the Akademi Badminton Malaysia (ABM) is separated into two sectors – senior elite and national juniors.
Former Olympian and world champion Rexy Mainaky is the overall supremo at ABM, while his Indonesian compatriot Jeffer Rosobin oversees the junior players.
In recent weeks, there have been reports of Malaysian coaches taking head coaching roles elsewhere.
ABM former coaching director Wong Choong Hann will assume the role of head coach with the Hong Kong national team, while another former international, James Chua, recently resigned as ABM men’s singles coach to join the Czech Republic national team as head coach.
In May this year, BAM put up a job advertisement for a men’s singles coach, anticipating possible changes after the Paris Olympics.
It is important to note that most coaches’ contracts will expire at the end of the year. – September 30, 2024