KUALA LUMPUR – Badminton Association of Malaysia’s (BAM) singles coaching department has six months to identify a second and third national men’s singles player after Ng Tze Yong, BAM president Tan Sri Norza Zakaria said.
Norza said that singles coaching director Wong Choong Hann and Indonesian coach Hendrawan have to take up the task and fast-track their findings.
“Within the BAM setup, we have Tze Yong as the national top player. My question to Choong Hann and Hendrawan was who is our number two and three?
“They have to fast-track their work and we have given them six months to do that,” Norza told the press after the BAM council meeting held at ABM in Bukit Kiara, today.
Tze Yong’s two-medal achievement at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games recently has left Malaysian fans wondering if the country can produce more top shuttlers.
Norza said the women’s singles department also faces a similar issue as S. Kisona has yet to move up her rank.
Meanwhile, Choong Hann acknowledged his assignment, saying that he and Hendrawan are focusing on in-house players.
He added that they are paying attention to players like Aidil Sholeh Ali Sadikin, Leong Jun Hao, Lim Chong King, as well as junior player Shaqeem Eiman Shahyar, who is transitioning to the senior level.
Choong Hann also said that the process to develop a player would take some time, taking Tze Yong as an example as the world number 42 has been slowly and steadily climbing the ranks from when he started playing under BAM at 19.
“The process to be a champion, sometimes, needs to be right and it could take time. We will try our best, nonetheless.
“But the players also need to show commitment and have the desire to be the best as daily training can get boring and monotonous,” said Choong Hann. – The Vibes, August 13, 2022
