ABM restructures, Rexy and Misbun to play crucial role

KUALA LUMPUR – Following a dismal outing by the national junior squad in the BWF World Junior Championships last year, Akademi Badminton Malaysia (ABM) has decided to restructure the junior coaching line-up.

ABM chief executive officer Michelle Chai said that the restructuring will see national doubles coaching director Rexy Mainaky taking on an additional responsibility to oversee the junior doubles department. 

At the same time, former youth development director Datuk Misbun Sidek will focus on developing the singles players. 

“These changes are effective this week. 

“The performance at the world junior championships was not up to our expectations,” Michelle said when met at ABM here, today.

“We have to take a different approach. We cannot go down the same path.

“After the post-mortem, we have agreed that Misbun will focus on the junior singles because of his expertise in that particular category, and the junior doubles under-16 to under-18 will be monitored by Rexy.”

Michelle added that Rexy’s additional role will provide him with seamless transition and cooperation between the senior and junior teams.

Following the championships held in Spain in October, ABM also saw the departure of under-15 coach Hafiz Hashim and under-18 doubles head coach Vountus Indra Mawan.

Commenting on the matter, Michelle said that ABM is in the midst of hiring their replacements.

“Misbun and Rexy are currently identifying and finalising the coaches they need. So, we are placing our trust in both of them to come up with a good plan.

“The assistant coaches will play a crucial role here as they need to be capable to deliver the game plan from the head coaches to the players,” she added.

During the 22nd edition world junior meet, none of the national shuttlers qualified for the quarterfinals in the individual events while the squad finished 9th in the mixed team event. – The Vibes, February 10, 2023