The stage is set for the inaugural President’s Cup that will feature Malaysia’s best shuttlers at the Akademi Badminton Malaysia (ABM), Bukit Kiara.
Ahead of the Thomas Cup and Uber Cup finals in Aarhus, Denmark next month, the team simulation tournament will be held on 16 and 17 September respectively.
After a competitive individual event, the BAM-VICTOR Invitational Championships in August, the President’s Cup will see all 20 players called up to the Thomas Cup and Uber Cup national team upping the ante in their final preparations.
The team event will be held without spectators at the national badminton centre of excellence and all matches will be broadcasted live on Astro Arena.
Director of Coaching, Wong Choong Hann: “We are building up on our preparations from the BAM-VICTOR Invitational Championships, with a team-based event. We are looking forward to the same competitiveness and explosiveness and there are other elements that we’re looking at too; team spirit and team bonding among the team members.
“We try to be balanced the best we can. For example, if we have first singles in Team A, our first doubles will go to Team B. Important to have a fair match between two teams. Anyone who could pull the surprises will win the match as a team.
“It will give the players a glimpse of what’s coming because a lot of them have not participated in the Thomas Cup and Uber Cup before.
“Coming back from the motivation camp, I can see that the players are more open to their teammates. They have started to adapt to being open and to the sharing of experience. They now know that they’re getting more through utilizing the team’s resources instead of individual resources. That is a different level of efficiency that has its own reward; be it from training, mental, tactical and overall improvement.”
