THE World Junior Championships once again exposed the shortcomings in the BA of Malaysia’s (BAM) national junior set-up after the country failed to win any medal in Kazan, Russia.
Malaysia’s hopes were dashed when boys’ singles Shaqeem Eiman Shahyar and Goh Wyman; boys’ doubles Junaidi Arif-Haikal Nazri; and mixed doubles Yap Roy King-Gan Jing Err crashed out in the quarter-finals.
It was not the first time Malaysia had failed to win medals at the World Juniors as they suffered a similar fate in 2013 and 2014.
In fact, Malaysia had been struggling to assert themselves at the major junior event since their three-gold exploit, led by Zulfadli Zulkiffli in New Delhi eight years ago. Goh Jin Wei also provided the saving grace, winning the girls’ singles crown twice - in 2015 and last year.
There is cause for concern as Malaysia also failed to win a medal in the Asian Junior Championships in Suzhou, China in July.
However,BAM secretary general Datuk Kenny Goh said their decision to shift the players’ base from Bukit Jalil Sports School to Academy Badminton Malaysia (ABM) in Bukit Kiara next year could trigger the much-needed revival at junior level.
‘Lack of tournament exposure affected our players’ seedings in the tournament and some had to play top ranked players early in the tournament. This is not an excuse for their defeat and we need to look into the entire junior set-up to initiate changes,’ said Kenny yesterday.
‘The first step is to create a better environment for the juniors to show greater progress and we believe this could take place when they join ABM next year. The players are able to stay and train here rather than shuttling between Bukit Jalil and Bukit Kiara daily for years.
‘Training, accommodation and education will be provided under one roof and we can also cater to a bigger pool of players as the academy can house 200 players. BAM can allocate up to 120 juniors.
‘BAM had a meeting with the players’ parents (yesterday) where most of them were receptive of not only shifting base but also to allow their children undergo the new education programme.
‘The students will undergo International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) programme where the lessons will be conducted by teachers from an international school at the academy itself. It will be a flexible system where the students are able to give priority to badminton.’
National junior coach Kwan Yoke Meng, when contacted in Kazan yesterday, said lack of physical strength was one of the reasons why they could not perform well in the World Juniors.
‘In terms of skills our players are almost on par with the players from the top nations like China and Indonesia but physical condition let them down. The presence of the physical conditioning expert to provide a programme for them will help their cause,’ said Yoke Meng.
‘I hope the players will be able to show better progress when they move into ABM where they can fully focus on their training as it will also reduce travel time.
‘I believe the new environment, with a complete set-up, would be ideal for the juniors to catch up with the China players.’
But solely depending on a new environment at ABM may not guarantee success for BAM as they need to review the current programme and monitor the effectiveness of the coaches, something that Kenny had hinted in order to see their development programme become a success.