THE Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) today paved the way for former coach Datuk Misbun Sidekās return to their stable, when they acknowledged the importance of having a local expert head their coaching team.
Appointing a foreign coach was deemed to be ānot idealā by the Malaysian badmintonās governing body in a statement released today, considering the different mentality of Malaysian players.
āBAM over the years have had individuals from different countries in its coaching team, like Indonesia and China, with different coaching methods and systems including the Malaysian system. This is not ideal.ā
āThus, the individual we are seeking must be able to integrate these very different methods quickly, to develop our own unique systems and create a new winning formula,ā BAM clarified their requirements for the position in the statement.
BAM went on to admit their preferred choice for the role would be a Malaysian.
āBAM would prefer a homegrown Malaysian talent to head the capability and skills programme.
āWe will make the announcement once we have interviewed various candidates and made our decision.ā
With national icon and world No. 1 Datuk Lee Chong Wei throwing his support publicly behind his former coach, it is now difficult to see past Misbun for the associationās national training centre head position.
