QUITTING: Coach leaving post with BAM to take up new position in the Philippines
FORMER Olympic champion Rexy Mainaky has resigned after serving as the national doubles coach for the last seven years.
Rexy, hired in 2005 as the men's doubles coach, was the women's and mixed doubles chief coach since September but has decided to take up the position of director of coaching with the Philippines Badminton Association.
BA of Malaysia (BAM) secretary Ng Chin Chai, after chairing a high performance committee meeting in Bukit Jalil yesterday, confirmed that Rexy had tendered his resignation in March but will continue coaching until the end of the month. His position with the PBA starts on May 2.
Rexy, whose current contract was until June, 2013, said he has done his best to serve the national doubles squad but intended to move on after having delivered his pledge to help Wong Pei Tty-Chin Eei Hui qualify for the London Olympics.
"I have been here for the last seven years. It is enough. I decided to resign because I need a new challenge and I believe I will get the sort of challenge I am expecting, in the Philippines," said Rexy.
"I am happy with the way BAM and the National Sports Council (NSC) have treated me over the years and I have contributed as much as I can here.
"Pei Tty-Eei Hui are on the right track for the Olympics while some of the back-up pairs are also improving. I have complete faith in Jeremy Gan and Chong Kein Ling who have assisted me for the last six months."
Rexy added: "There were also offers from Indonesia and England while Russia were willing to pay me US$12,000 (RM36,000) but my decision was not based just on money. I could have easily chosen Indonesia where talent is readily available but I want to do more.
"There is not much difference in terms of salary between what I am getting in Malaysia and what I will be getting in the Philippines where I will serve as the director of coaching and will have to travel around the country to identify players with potential aged between 12 and 17, come up with a national training programme and also handle the elite training.
"It is a lot of work but this is something I wanted to do before but in Malaysia, my time was occupied as the elite coach. Now, I have the opportunity for a new challenge in a country where there are only 20 players at national level."
Rexy will be best remembered as the person who formed the Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong combination and guided them to the 2006 Asian Games gold and the All England crown a year later.
However, Kien Keat-Boon Heong went into a freefall soon after and Rexy found it difficult to help the pair regain their form which prompted BAM to redesignate him as the women's doubles and mixed doubles chief coach last September.
It was this decision that many feel had driven Rexy to seek his fortune elsewhere but he denied this. As the long-time mentor of Kien Keat-Boon Heong, Rexy said BAM has done everything possible to help them fight for medals and it is up to them to prove their worth in the Olympics.
Meawhile, Chin Chai said Rexy's successor has not yet been named and it will be discussed at the coaching and training committee (CTC) meeting on April 26.
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