The BA of Malaysia (BAM) described the results by the young Malaysian shuttlers at the Asian Junior Championships as “very sad” after the players crashed out in the critical stages of the tournament.
“This was agreed wholeheartedly by the council members. There are problems with the players’ intensity, speed, mental strength, endurance … they failed to shine in the critical stages,” said BAM’s outgoing president, Tan Sri Norza Zakaria.
The BAM council meeting, had this afternoon, agreed for a task force to be set up to look into the juniors’ poor outing. The task force, headed by one of Norza’s deputies – Datuk V. Subramaniam – would look at the present system and propose changes.
Norza added that Malaysia remained far behind compared to the badminton-playing nations.
“Before the Akademi Badminton Malaysia (ABM) was set up, the players stayed at the Bukit Jalil Sports School’s hostel and trained at the Juara Stadium in Bukit Kiara. They weren’t fully under BAM.
“Today, with the four-star BAM, facilities, five meals a day, and many other perks, the players still don’t give a four-star performance. Have the players become too comfortable with the facilities?
“We have decided to set up a task force, headed by Subramaniam, to look at the present system and propose changes. We will consider opinions from the newly established advisory panel comprising several legendary players,” he added.
Norza said BAM would announce the fate of the junior coaches next week. He also zoomed in on the state associations.
“All the states have their development programmes. Is it enough, or should we get the clubs in, with certain criteria, in place? We will discuss this with the task force,” he said.