Those were the days: Legendary Lee Chong Wei chatting with Hendrawan during his time with BAM.
PETALING JAYA: Hendrawan believes the time is right for him to move on after coaching the men’s singles in the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) for 15 years.
The BAM have decided not to renew the long-serving Indonesian’s contract, which ends at the end of this year and Hendrawan will officially leave the national body at the end of this month. The 52-year-old, who guided Datuk Lee Chong Wei, Lee Zii Jia and Ng Tze Yong among others, will leave behind countless memories during his time in the BAM and also in Malaysia which has become like a second home to him.
Hendrawan joined the BAM in May 2009 and guided Chong Wei to two of his three Olympic silver medals in 2012 in London and 2016 in Rio de Janeiro.
He also helped the 26-year-old Zii Jia win the All-England title in 2021 before the latter left the BAM to turn independent a year later.
He later guided Tze Yong, 24, to break into the world’s top 20
“It’s hard to believe I have been with BAM for so many years,” said Hendrawan.
“It has been an incredible journey and I enjoyed my time in Malaysia but now it’s time to move on.
“I thank BAM for their trust in me and wish the singles players the very best in the future. I hope to see them continue to progress and become top players.
“I still remember when I first came to Malaysia. I received a warm welcome and I want to leave on good terms too.
“I experienced a lot of happiness, sadness, wins and losses. Let all these be good memories for me,” added Hendrawan.
While the Indonesian did well to produce top players like Chong Wei, Zii Jia and Tze Yong, BAM are now looking for a suitable replacement to improve the men’s singles department.
The BAM have also made several changes in the coaching structure to revive the fortunes of the singles and women’s doubles.
Another men’s singles coach Datuk Tey Seu Bock has been moved from the senior squad to coach the juniors while K. Yogendran will move from women’s singles to men’s singles and will be joined by former junior coach Alvin Chew.
National junior head coach Jeffer Rosobin will take Yogendran’s place as the women’s singles coach and will be joined by Misbun Ramdan, who has also been promoted from the junior singles team.
“We are making these changes to improve the quality of both our men’s and women’s singles and women’s doubles,” said national coaching director Rexy Mainaky.
“We want the junior and senior coaches to work together to produce better players.
“We are also currently looking for a head coach for the singles and women’s doubles. We are looking at a few experienced candidates and we hope to come to a decision as soon as possible.”
