NATIONAL men's singles head coach, Hendrawan has found himself in a sticky situation following the Covid-19 outbreak.
The Indonesian admitted that some his plans, including preparing Lee Zii Jia for the Tokyo Olympics, have gone haywire following the abrupt postponement of several tournaments.
Since Covid-19 was first detected in December, the Badminton World Federation (BWF) had no choice but to put five tournaments on hold.
They are the China Masters, Vietnam International Challenge, German Open, Polish Open and Portuguese International Championships.
This has caused much distress to Malaysia’s players and coaches who are in the midst of preparing for the biggest sporting event in the world in Tokyo this July.
And the 2020 Olympics is also in danger of being cancelled if the Covid-19 epidemic gets worse in May.
“It’s really difficult. The outbreak is beyond our control but at the same time my plans for the players are disrupted,” said Hendrawan at the Academy Badminton Malaysia (ABM) yesterday.
“Take Zii Jia for example, initially I had registered him for the German Open and All England (March 11-15).
“The German Open was postponed at the final hour and there is a possibility the All England will follow suit.
“Zii Jia and several other players like Cheam June Wei and Leong Jun Hao, have not played in any tournament since the Asian Team Championships last month.
“Now I have no choice but to keep registering them for the remaining tournaments. This is not part of the plan.”
According to Hendrawan, the players’ temperament and momentum have also been affected in recent weeks.
“Surely, we’re all affected. Everyday, we dread to know if another tournament is going to be postponed because of the virus.
“Zii Jia’s ranking is not what I’m worried about, it’s his preparation for the Olympics.
“Since we did not register him for the Swiss (March 17-22) and India Opens (March 24-29), his next tournament is only the Malaysia Open next month.
“I’ve registered him for the Singapore Open (April 7-12), but even then it’s 50-50. And we have included his name for the Badminton Asia Championships (April 21-26).
“Initially, he wasn’t meant to play in these tournaments but we have no choice now,” Hendrawan lamented.
The national shuttlers bound for the All England in Birmingham are scheduled to leave on Saturday.
Should the All England be postponed, BAM will also have to make a decision on the 12 doubles players currently training in Paris.
The Covid-19 outbreak has killed more than 3,000 people and infected more than 80,000 others worldwide.