KUALA LUMPUR – The Badminton Association of Malaysia’s (BAM) plan to form a junior elite team consisting of top players from the younger squad should be in place immediately, said Datuk James Selvaraj.
Speaking to The Vibes, James said changes need to be done after the national junior shuttlers dismal outing at the 2022 BWF World Junior Championships in Santander, Spain last month.
For the first time, none of the national players qualified for the quarterfinals in individual events while the team finished ninth in the mixed team event.
“Changes are needed to upgrade the top of the junior players to the next level. We cannot just keep them there, because they will only be playing against the same opponents.
“The players need to be training with the senior team so they can learn more and elevate themselves,” James said.
Previously, BAM president Tan Sri Mohamad Norza Zakaria said other countries such as South Korea and Thailand have been sending young players for international tournaments and it is time for Malaysia to follow them.
James commended the idea, adding that it would help speed up the process of promoting junior players into the senior setup.
“If they perform in the elite programme, then they should automatically be promoted into the senior team.
“You can’t promote every single player into the senior team, so the elite programme is a good platform to speed up the process and identify potential shuttlers to be sent alongside the national team,” said the 1976 Thomas Cup silver medallist, who is also a member of the BAM coaching and training committee.
Recently, BAM said that it is keeping its faith in youth development director Datuk Misbun Sidek, with its secretary-general Datuk Kenny Goh stating that Misbun needs to lay out a structured plan swiftly to ramp up the youth department.
James also echoed the comments, adding that a proper analysis is needed alongside a new structured programme for the young shuttlers.
“Misbun needs to deliver a programme that suits our players.
“They need to relook at everything and work with all the players, tell them where their weaknesses are.
“If they cannot overcome the weaknesses, at least improve on the strengths so that it can overpower the weaknesses,” said the former BAM high-performance director. – The Vibes, November 15, 2022
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