KUALA LUMPUR – While the deadline for the nominations for the Badminton World Federation (BWF) presidency draws nearer, it is understood that Tan Sri Mohamad Norza Zakaria will not be contesting for the top post.
Speaking to Scoop on the condition of anonymity, a source within the badminton fraternity revealed that Norza will instead nominate his counterpart and current BWF deputy president, Khunying Patama Leeswadtrakul, for the top post.
“This will be done for unity among the Asian countries – and for that, he will not contest for the president’s post and will nominate Khunying.
“Norza would also want to ensure that the BWF president this time comes from Asia, so he will take a step back from going head-to-head against his Asian counterpart,” the source said.
At the same time, it is understood that Norza will be a member of the BWF Council, helping to bring reforms to the sport.
The source also revealed that Norza is not keen to split the votes from the Asian countries.
“Having two Asian badminton figures contesting against each other would not be ideal if the objective is to ensure that the next BWF president is from this continent.
Historically, since the BWF’s establishment in 1934 (then known as the International Badminton Federation), only four of 19 presidents have been Asians.
It is understood that if an Asian candidate assumes the BWF presidency next year, badminton’s position within the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will be strengthened.
This would also bring a focus on meaningful reforms rather than on superficial initiatives like Air Badminton or the relay point scoring system, which was recently introduced at the World Junior Championships.
After the Paris Olympics, Norza stepped down as the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) president after seven years at the helm.
He is currently the vice president of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) and the honourary president of Badminton Asia.
Norza took the helm of BAM in 2017 and subsequently accomplished many milestones. He was behind several key decisions pertaining to the governance of badminton, in accordance with the vision and aspirations of the national body.
He also successfully secured multi-million ringgit sponsorship deals for BAM and was the first president to deliver a World Championship title when Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik became the first Malaysians to capture the elusive title in 2022. – November 5, 2023