Early exit: Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik fell to Taiwan’s Lee Fang-chih-Lee Fang-jen in the second round at the Malaysian Open. — FAIHAN GHANI/The Star
KUALA LUMPUR: Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) will no longer tolerate any excuses from their star players, after the governing body not only secured a high profile coach, but also agreed to offer them lucrative salaries and allowances.
Acting president, Datuk V. Subramaniam said BAM had done heavy investment on players to ensure Malaysia achieve success on the international stage.
And if their players continue to fail in delivering the best results in upcoming tournaments, BAM will not hesitate to take firm action against them.
Previously, BAM had secured the services of Kenneth Jonassen of Denmark to manage the men’s singles squad, joining Nova Widianto and Rosman Razak, who are responsible for the mixed doubles and women’s doubles squads.
Yesterday, they completed their coaching line-up by announcing Indonesia’s supremo, Herry Iman Pierngadi, as the coach for the men’s doubles team.
This year’s Malaysian Open saw several key BAM players exiting early.
In the men’s doubles, Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik fell to Taiwan’s Lee Fang-chih-Lee Fang-jen in the second round, while women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah were defeated in the first round by Indonesia’s new pairing, Siti Fadia Ramadhanti-Lanny Tria.
“Every expense we incur is an investment in the players, including bringing in a high-profile coach with a generous salary. We are also paying the players substantial salaries,” said Subramaniam.
“Of course, this is an investment that must not be wasted. BAM have done their best, so now it’s the players’ turn to give their best.
“We don’t want to hear any more excuses. Firm action will be taken if players continue to fail to deliver the results we expect. Not just for us, but for the country.
“The coach needs to assess whether the players are performing well or not. We will consider the coach’s suggestions on the actions that need to be taken,” said Subramaniam.
At the same time, Subramaniam reminded the national players not to become complacent, as he was aware that some were holding BAM to ransom, assuming the governing body could not secure sponsors without their presence.
“There are players who think that if they’re not around, BAM won’t be able to secure sponsors.
“We also have other plans in place, including strengthening our development programmes. So, they can’t hold us to ransom.
“They need to achieve the best results, not for us, but for the country. If it becomes clear they cannot, they may need to retire,” he added.
