PETALING JAYA: The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) have reiterated that the rules on the use of conflicting apparel by independent players training at the Academy Badminton Malaysia (ABM) had been in place several years ago.
BAM deputy president Datuk V. Subramaniam, making an official statement on behalf of the association, was perplexed by the comment of certain former players and coaches for claiming it otherwise.
Subramaniam stated that it was a contractual obligation to only use the sponsor’s apparel at ABM.
BAM’s equipment and apparel sponsors are Yonex.
“This rule on the use of non-BAM sponsored apparel by independent players training at our academy is certainly not something new. Independent players preparing for major team events trained with us and followed this rule.
“It is shocking some former players have chosen to make an issue of this now,” stated Subramaniam.
“Should BAM fail to abide by this obligation, it would be a clear breach of the contract and could lead to financial repercussions.
“If BAM are affected financially, it could affect our ability to support the players at the academy.
“We only ask that the independent players keep their attire free of competitor branding. Plain apparel without any branding is a non-issue.”
The statement also further added that the ruling is for apparel only and the independent shuttlers are allowed to use their racquets and shoes from their respective sponsors.
“As a governing body, it is definitely our duty to promote badminton in the country. We have always regarded independent players as part of our badminton family, and hence the decision to open the doors of ABM for weekly match-play sessions which provide quality sparring sessions.
“It would be absurd for us to intentionally make life ‘difficult’ for them,” stated Subramaniam further.
He also hoped that the players will continue their preparation towards the World Championships in Copenhagen from Aug 21-27 and put the apparel issue to rest.
Wong Tat Meng had hit out at BAM for the apparel ruling while former international Roslin Hashim, who is a member of BAM task force, was also critical about the matter.
However, men’s singles legend Datuk Lee Chong Wei took Tat Meng and Lee Zii Jia to task and stated that it was unbecoming of them to criticise BAM who have been trying to accommodate independent players to attend weekly match-play sessions due to national interest.
Chong Wei was also upset as he was the one who had proposed for the joint match-play sessions to be held to help in Malaysia’s push to win the country’s first gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Chong Wei’s proposal to the Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh and BAM president Tan Sri Norza Zakaria at the Road-to-Gold (RTG) committee meeting last year saw the match-play sessions beginning from Nov 21.
