Settled without fuss: (from left) Academy Badminton Malaysia chief executive officer Michelle Chai, Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) high performance director Dr Tim Jones, S. Kisona, BAM singles coaching director Wong Choong Hann and doubles coaching director Rexy Mainaky. — Bernama
PETALING JAYA: Women’s singles shuttler S. Kisona’s parting words clearly showed there were no hard feelings with the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) as the 2019 SEA Games champion quit after 11 years.
“I will return to BAM again in the future, if they allow me to do so,” said the 24-year-old Kisona with a smile.
Kisona, who has struggled with injuries since her junior days including undergoing a knee surgery (right), had to take the painful decision to leave the association as the injury flared up again during the Bangladesh International Challenge in Dhaka two weeks ago.
She also withdrew from the just-concluded Malaysian International Challenge in Ipoh but the Seremban-born shuttler has decided to settle her injury woes before embarking on a professional career.
After discussions with national singles coaching director Wong Choong Hann and women’s singles coach James Chua, Kisona said the decision to leave the BAM was the best possible option.
“I have fond memories of being a part of BAM for 11 years. But I had to consider this decision (to leave) so that I can focus on my treatment in order to play long term,” said Kisona.
“If I don’t have proper recovery, the injuries will keep cropping up constantly. So I had discussed with the coaches too for a better future plan and for now, I have to focus on my recovery.
“I’m not too sure how long it will take.
‘‘Maybe it is two weeks, three weeks or even longer as it depends on how serious the injury is.
“If I remain in the national team, sometimes, I need to come back and play in tournaments to improve the ranking or Olympic qualification before I fully recover from the injury.
“But outside BAM as a professional player, I will have more time to focus on recovery and also try alternative treatments.”
Kisona has not given up hope of attaining success as a shuttler internationally and that’s the reason why she has decided to venture outside the comforts of the BAM.
However, Kisona intends to keep her cordial relationship with the national body intact and will consider coming back to spar with the younger players.
“I will come back and spar with the juniors (if required) and maybe in the future, I can rejoin if there is a chance.”
Choong Hann believes the bold move by Kisona could reignite the sparkle in her career and help her to better manage the physical frailties she has been experiencing all this while.
“Kisona has always been a part of us and can continue using the facilities in the NSI. Normally, NSI will support the ex-national players when it comes to recovery and rehab process like what (Goh) Jin Wei went through. Kisona also falls under the same category,” said Choong Hann.
“Emotionally, Kisona needs that space (outside). She is a national player and there is a lot of emotional stress where she has to face the expectations of us (coaches) and the public in terms of results and other things.
“This break will do a world of good for her.”
It will be a relief to know that Kisona still has the backing of the BAM coaches and if she can solve her injury riddles, there is still light at the end of the tunnel for her.
