Centre of attention: Datuk Misbun Sidek talking to the media after a training session at Academy Badminton Malaysia in Bukit Kiara.
PETALING JAYA: If starting daily training sessions as early as 5am could not lead them to victory, do you believe they stand a chance of winning with reduced training hours?
This was the statement made by Datuk Misbun Sidek after his training module was being doubted and criticised.
Misbun, who was relieved of his duties as the national junior singles coaching director, received criticism for his training programme as it was considered outdated.
He also added that he had to start the training early due to lack of training courts for juniors.
Misbun, however, firmly believed that his decision to start his training sessions early was to instill strong discipline in the shuttlers.
"If they say my module is outdated, I have proven it by producing three former world No. 1 players (Wong Choong Hann, Roslin Hashim and Lee Chong Wei) and helping Lee Zii Jia to reach world No. 10 before I was given the responsibility to oversee the junior singles department,” said Misbun.
"The module that I used was the same and there’s no difference.
"I conducted training sessions early in the morning because I don’t want them to spend too much time on social media and I want them to wake up early.
"I reached Bukit Kiara at 3.45am every morning to get ready because the training starts at 5am.
"We only have a few hours to train in the morning as we have to vacate the courts for the seniors latest by 7.30am.
"This was what we faced when we were not able to use the Juara Stadium and had to share the courts at the ABM (Academy Badminton of Malaysia) with the seniors.
"If they could not even win after training early in the morning, do you think they can win if they train in shorter time than this?
"As the junior squad handler, I cannot be too demanding and we always have to give in to the seniors.
"I like to be monitored and the panel are more than welcomed to observe my training programme whether it is correct and judge me based on that.
"If they only listened to stories from a few players who could not stand waking up early, why not they organise a big meeting for a discussion?"
Misbun, who rejoined the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) for a second stint in 2017, was dismissed from his position following a disappointing outing in the Asian Junior Championships in Yogyakarta last month.
Only men's doubles pair Bryan Goonting-Low Han Chen reached the quarter-finals.
With Misbun being shown the door, national junior shuttlers gearing up for the World Junior Championships from Sept 25-Oct 8 in the United States will train alongside the senior players.
