Scouting badminton talents based on character? Why not: ABM CEO

KUALA LUMPUR – While scouting younger talents is not a new practice for Akademi Badminton Malaysia (ABM), there could be better ways to do so, said its chief executive officer Michelle Chai.

Following ABM’s technical advisory panel’s (TAP) first meeting yesterday, she shared that some of the badminton greats who are part of TAP had aired some ideas as to how talent identification could be further improved.

Apart from expanding their search to more local tournaments, there should also be a consideration to absorb potential players with good skills or characteristics.

“Widening our grassroots ecosystem and the talent pool means that if we get more players, will ABM have the capacity to house them?

“Identifying talents is not new for us. What is new now is the official acceptance that we may bring in the player now instead of waiting for the end of the year for the official talent identification.

“Also, when it comes to talent identification, there are also some suggestions as to whether we should identify them in terms of their playing skills or their character.

“Sometimes, skills alone may not necessarily be the most important factor,” she added.

As ABM is considering widening its talent pool, another factor that comes into play is the age factor.

Michelle said they need to consider the most suitable age to absorb a young player into the academy.

“Is it good to separate a young kid from their parents at a young age?

“As the kids are still schooling and there are logistical factors with regards to their parents, perhaps we could invite them over to train with us during their school holidays.”

Another suggestion that was brought up during the TAP meeting was promoting existing juniors to senior training and allowing them to compete at senior-level tournaments.

“Some countries do not label their players’ seniority by their age, (unlike) here, (where) if you are 16-year-old, you are still a junior and only get to play in the junior tournaments.

“So, the discussion was that seniority should not matter. If we see somebody who is talented, even if it is a junior, maybe we could invite them to train with the senior squad and send them for a senior tournament.”

Michelle noted that suggestions and feedback provided will be taken into serious consideration and that ABM will look into the mechanism to execute said plans. – The Vibes, March 1, 2023