KUALA LUMPUR, July 26 — Youth singles coaching director Datuk Misbun Sidek is ready to accept whatever decision is made by the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) regarding his future at Akademi Badminton Malaysia (ABM).
Misbun, who was met by reporters after a six-hour BAM Special Committee meeting at ABM in Bukit Kiara earlier today, said his charges had tried their best but still failed to stand out at the Asian Junior Badminton Championships in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, recently.
“I will accept whatever (decision is made by the committee), if it is a suspension or something else… wait for BAM to explain what was discussed (at the committee meeting). What happens on the court is sometimes beyond my control because we only prepare the players,” he said.
Misbun said now is not the time to point fingers to find fault with what happened in Yogyakarta, even though the players were unable to translate what they learned in the training sessions during the actual competition.
He added that he has not yet made any plans, should BAM decide to end his service at ABM.
The national junior squad at the 2023 Asian Junior Championships (AJC) in Yogyakarta recently displayed a lacklustre performance when they lost to the defending champions, Thailand, 0 – 3, in the quarter-finals of the mixed team event and none of the players qualified for the semi-finals of the singles competition.
The last time Malaysia won a medal in the tournament was in 2018 through the then-junior women’s doubles pair of Pearly Tan – Toh Ee Wei who took silver, in addition to helping the then-national squad win bronze in the mixed team event.
Regarding Malaysia’s challenge at the 2023 World Junior Championships in Spokane, Washington, the United States, Misbun said the players need to work hard in training sessions and be smart in stealing points from their opponents.
In October last year, Malaysia failed to reach the quarter-finals at the World Junior Championships in Santander, Spain, and finished the mixed team event in ninth place after defeating Denmark, 4 – 1.
It was even more saddening when for the first time, no national player qualified for the quarter-finals of the singles competition in Spain.
Meanwhile, BAM deputy president Datuk V. Subramaniam, who led the special committee, said they have yet to make any decision and will be making the announcement in the next couple of days.
The committee which also involves the coaches and players, had discussed in length the existing programmes tailor-made for the juniors.
He also did not discount the possibility to fine-tune the current training programme for the benefit of the players and their performance.
— Bernama
