MUCH has been said about the lack of sports science support for Lee Chong Wei after the Beijing Olympics in August, but the BA of Malaysia's (BAM) delay in finalising its 2012 London Olympics project squad may have contributed to this.

BAM secretary, P. Ganga Rao, in assuring that the project will be launched in November, said that the National Sports Insitute (NSI) has pledged total support but it will depend on the number of players available under the new programme.

Chong Wei and his coach Misbun Sidek had lamented the lack of support from the NSI in providing mental and physical trainers during last month's Japan Open and the Macau Open a fortnight ago.

This prompted NSI director general Datuk Dr Ramlan Abdul Aziz to pay a visit to BAM in Bukit Kiara to try and solve the matter, and subsequently gave the green light to provide a complete team of support services to the national elite and back-up players.

Ganga said that BAM will make a request after the 2012 project squad is finalised and let the NSI decide on the number of sufficient sports experts to help the national shuttlers.
"I think the NSI has been very supportive in the sense that Dr Ramlan himself has taken the initiative to solve the issue. However, the exact number of sports science experts depends on the our squad and NSI's approval," said Ganga yesterday.

"The current decision to provide the national team with a full squad of support services for the European circuit is a stop-gap measure. The NSI has promised to give us a complete team once our programme is finalised.

"It's a blessing in disguise as the whole issue has given a clear indication that the players are aware of the need to go through conditioning programme.

"We will make sure that only players who are physically ready will travel to tournaments in future and the support system will help us achieve this."

Chong Wei feels that the presence of a mental trainer would help his cause. His wish will be granted as Fred Tan will accompany him to the Denmark Open on Oct 21-26 and French Open on Oct 28-Nov 2.

Rosdie Ghani, who is responsible for preparing a physical training programme for Chong Wei, will also make the trip, so there is no reason for the World No 1 to complain in future.