KUALA LUMPUR — After Kisona Selvaduray, how many more former Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) shuttlers will benefit from Serdang BC?
Once renowned for its active participation in the now-defunct Malaysia Purple League (MPL), Serdang BC has set an ambitious goal this year to help former national shuttlers reach their full potential through its specialised training programmes.
Speaking to Scoop, former badminton legend Ong Ewe Hock, who is also the club owner, revealed that several former BAM shuttlers, including Kisona, have approached the club for advice and additional training ahead of upcoming tournaments.
The two-time Malaysia Open champion also said that the professional shuttlers are more comfortable joining his club for training because they believe the training regimes differ significantly from what they experienced at BAM.
“We are on a mission this year, and we want to help as many professional shuttlers as we can, whether through training, facilities, advice, or sponsorship.
“I personally feel that, as a former shuttler, I need to lend my expertise to those who need it. For now, my main focus is to help the men’s singles and women’s singles shuttlers the most, but we also have plans this year to support those in the doubles category as well.
“Even when Kisona recently reached out to us for advice and training, we helped her as much as we could, and we are happy with the progress she has shown in her gameplay recently.
“The reason why we believe these shuttlers feel comfortable coming to us, especially for training, is that we don’t burden them with intensive training sessions. Instead, we specifically design our programmes based on their capabilities and areas for improvement.
“We make sure to analyse them 100% and understand them first before imposing any sort of training regime. This is why players like Kisona and several others are very comfortable reaching out to us.
“But just because we listen to the needs of the shuttlers and are flexible, it doesn’t mean we provide low-quality training compared to other associations.
“Our training is always top-notch, as we currently have approximately 15-20 top coaches with us. I can’t reveal how many more professional shuttlers will be joining our club this year, but I can guarantee that the number will increase by the end of this year,” said Ewe Hock when contacted.
It was reported that among the former BAM shuttlers Ewe Hock has helped in recent years are Jacky Kok, Cheam June Wei, Goh Jin Wei, and Chuah Kim Sheng.
At the same time, Ewe Hock added that his club is also looking to open its door for more junior and semi-professional shuttlers, to create more exchange programmes with foreign clubs and obtain the expertise of professional coaches from the Asian region, including Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, and Hong Kong.
“We are currently in touch with several clubs and coaches in the Asian region, and our goal is to go big this year. I can assure you that we will be able to secure our deals by mid-year.
“Since the MPL no longer exists, I want to send as many players from my club to various leagues in the Asian region, so they can gain more exposure, learn from them, and become better,” Ewe Hock added.
For the record, Serdang BC was formed in 2014 and currently boasts approximately 30 shuttlers. In addition to the MPL, the club’s junior shuttlers used to compete in the Malaysia Purple League Junior. — February 5, 2025