The Star Online: Sports
The Star Online: Sports |
- BAM all set to appoint head honcho at today’s exco meeting
- Wei Feng and Daren must prove critics wrong
- Koo-Tan birthday wish: Keep us together
| BAM all set to appoint head honcho at today’s exco meeting Posted: 18 Sep 2012 05:43 PM PDT KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian badminton will finally have its supremo. Whether this national coaching director, or chief coach, is given the full power to run the programme will only be known at the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) exco meeting, headed by Datuk Seri Nadzmi Mohd Salleh, at Stadium Juara in Bukit Kiara today. BAM are expected to unveil a 12-year plan to be headed by one person. The programme will cater to three categories – singles (elite and 2016), doubles (elite and 2016) and the 2020 squad comprising those 17 years and below. Each squad will have their own chief coach who will report to the supremo. Those in the running for the hot seat are Kwan Yoke Meng (former national coach), Wong Ah Jit (National Sports Institute officer), Cheah Soon Kit (former coach), Yap Kim Hock (former chief coach) and even Park Joo-bong of South Korea. Yoke Meng seems to be the frontrunner but a closed door meeting between Joo-bong and a Malaysian official at the ongoing Japan Open in Tokyo could result in the Korean coming onboard. The likely candidates to head the singles, doubles and the Under-17 (BJSS) squads are Rashid Sidek, Tan Kim Her and Zhou Kejian respectively. Many former shuttlers have called for BAM to name a coaching director to steer the team towards a set target. They felt that Malaysian badminton has been like a headless chicken without a strategist to call the shots. In China, Li Yongbo is the brains behind the team's massive success while Japan and Indonesia bank on the experiences of Joo-bong and Christian Hadinata respectively. BAM should know by now that naming a reliable candidate for the job alone is not enough. The supremo should be given the full mandate and support to carry out his plans. Malaysia's previous head honchos – Morten Frost of Denmark, Kim Hock and Joo-bong – did not have much say in decision-making as the management team meddled in everything – even on technical matters. The new supremo should be answerable only to the coaching and training committee and be accountable for the progress of the players and coaches. This person should be given certain targets to achieve over a period of time. It must be a result-oriented position and he should go if he fails to deliver. But he must be given a free-hand to do his job. Some of the former greats, however, say strengthening the centralised programme alone is not enough. Many want BAM to channel their energy and funds to decentralised programmes and give states more prominence in grooming young talents. They believe that a solid programme should be established at state level. The exco will decide today whether to pump in millions for the states' development programme, knowing it is high time for them to find replacements for Lee Chong Wei, Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong and talent for the women's teams. Otherwise, they can forget about even qualifying for the next Olympic Games in Rio. |
| Wei Feng and Daren must prove critics wrong Posted: 18 Sep 2012 04:39 PM PDT KUALA LUMPUR: All eyes will be on Liew Daren and Chong Wei Feng when the first round of the men's singles event of the Japan Open begins tomorrow. While world No. 2 Lee Chong Wei is expected to rule the roost in the absence of China's shuttlers, his younger compatriots know they have a lot to prove. The tournament will be a litmus test for Daren and Wei Feng to justify their continued presence in the national setup after numerous failed launches. Both face tough first-round matches and will not have coach Tey Seu Bock, who is ill, with them. World No. 27 Daren suffered from nerves and made an early exit in the first round of last week's China Masters at the hands of India's Sourabh Varma. Jitters should not be a problem for Daren this time although he will have to contend with another Indian – B. Sai Praneeth – in the first round. If India's impressive performance in Changzhou is anything to go by, Daren, 26, faces a tricky tie against the 20-year-old from Hyderabad. "I don't really know this player and I haven't seen his game before. But I'm taking the match very seriously as it is always hard playing against underdogs or someone I've never faced before," said Daren, who hopes to reach the quarter-finals in Tokyo. A win will pit him against Vietnam's eighth seed Nguyen Tien Minh in the second round with second seed Dane Peter-Gade Christensen his possible opponent in the quarter-finals. The unseeded Wei Feng is poised to set up an all-Malaysian affair in the quarter-finals. The 25-year-old is set to face Chong Wei in the round of eight should he overcome Japanese fifth seed Kenichi Tago and possibly Ajay Jayaram of India in the first and second rounds respectively. In the men's doubles, Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong will be playing with a new sense of vigour as they look to end their partnership on a high with a Super Series title in Tokyo. Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying look to be best prospects for the mixed doubles title. |
| Koo-Tan birthday wish: Keep us together Posted: 18 Sep 2012 05:41 PM PDT KUALA LUMPUR: Top men's doubles shuttlers Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong celebrated their birthdays in Japan yesterday and they had the same wish – to remain partners at least until next year's World Championships. Kien Keat and Boon Heong took some time off from training to cut a cake in Tokyo – on the eve of the Japan Open – as team-mates and team manager David Wee looked on. The duo share the same birth day and have been celebrating the occasion together for the last seven years. Kien Keat turned 27 and Boon Heong 25 yesterday. "Koo and Tan look very motivated. We celebrated their birthdays together with women's coach Woon Sze Mei as it was her birthday too. The team are in high spirits," said David in a telephone interview. "I can see Koo and Tan sticking together for a longer time. They have a good chance here after the re-draw following the withdrawal of the players from China. I'm hoping that they'll reach the final." The duo's wish to remain together, however, may not materialise if the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) exco have their way. The exco, headed by Datuk Seri Nadzmi Mohd Salleh, will decide today whether to split them or keep them together. The council members are said to be not too happy with the duo's recent form. Kien Keat-Boon Heong, former Asian Games gold medallists and All-England champions, have been struggling over the last two years. The final straw was at last year's World Championships in Wembley when they went down with a whimper to South Koreans Ko Sung-hyun-Yoo Yeon-seong. They dropped their coach Rexy Mainaky and pleaded for another shot under Pang Cheh Chang. They showed some improvement but failed to make an impression at the London Olympics, losing in the bronze medal playoff against another Korean pair – Chung Jae-sung-Lee Yong-dae. Many feel that Kien Keat-Boon Heong have reached a plateau and that it would be best for BAM to focus on the back-up shuttlers. Even BAM president Nadzmi feels that Kien Keat-Boon Heong should be split and teamed up with younger partners. If BAM do break them up, this would be the last time they celebrated birthdays together as a pair. In the Japan Open, the second-seeded duo are in the same half with three other seeds – Japan's Naoki Kawamae-Shoji Sato (5th), Japan's Hirokatsu Hashimoto-Noriyasu Hirata (4th) and compatriots Hoon Thien How-Tan Wee Kiong (8th). |
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