THE BA of Malaysia (BAM) have rubbished claims of preferential treatment for shuttler K.Letshanaa.
The 17-year-old women's singles player currently follows only one training session daily compared to her peers, who are based full time at the Academy Badminton Malaysia (ABM) in Bukit Kiara.
Letshanaa is also the only junior who will be sitting for the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM), while the rest are under the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) programme.
BAM secretary general Datuk Kenny Goh said: "Actually, there is no special treatment for Letshanaa.
"Letshanaa is one of the shuttlers BAM have identified through the talent identification programme.
"And we have already been talking about fast-tracking some of our younger talents.
"However, when we offered Letshanaa the option to join the national squad, we realised that it was too late for her to switch to the IGCSE programme.
"So instead of losing out on a year, we agreed to have her join us part-time."
Kenny also noted that Letshanaa is not the only odd one out.
BAM have an arrangement with another 17-year-old, Arena Satu Samin who is based in Sabah.
"With Arena, it is a little tricky because she wants to complete her SPM in Sabah.
"So if she can maintain her fitness level and stay competitive, then we will offer her to join us full-time next year.
"Bear in mind that both Letshanaa and Arena will still have to prove themselves when the internal ranking system is implemented next year," added Kenny.
For the record, the SPM examinations will only take place next year on Jan 6-Feb 9.