KUALA LUMPUR, May 6 — The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) will not take hasty action following the underwhelming performance of the national men’s badminton squad at the recent Thomas Cup, says BAM secretary-general Datuk Kenny Goh.
He said this was because the governing body already had its own roadmap and long-term targets leading up to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games (LA2028).
“We should not have a knee-jerk reaction every time we lose in a tournament. We already have a roadmap towards LA 2028, with several milestones in each tournament they participate in.
“So what is important is that as long as we are within the roadmap and achieve the set milestones, it means we are on the right track,” he said when met by reporters after the Malaysia Masters badminton tournament press conference at the Academy Badminton Malaysia (ABM) here today.
Meanwhile, when asked to comment on national professional men’s singles player Lee Zii Jia’s intention to train at the Academy Badminton Malaysia (ABM), Kenny said BAM was open to allowing the move.
According to Kenny, in principle, the governing body had no issue with the player training at ABM, but several matters needed to be finalised first.
“We just need to refine a few things, and one of them is obtaining approval from the council members.
“That’s all, but in principle, there is no issue, and this is not something new. We have invited him before to come and train with us,” he said.
The media previously reported that Zii Jia was open to joining training sessions at ABM on a regular basis.
According to Zii Jia, the plan is still at the discussion stage as it involves several matters, including the governing body’s regulations.
At the same time, Kenny said that if Zii Jia was allowed to train at ABM, BAM would first review the player’s training programme before making any decision.
This includes determining whether the professional player would train with the elite squad or the national back-up group.
“We need to look at his training programme first and whether he will train with the elite players or the back-up players. I think this will be refined by the performance committee,” he said.
