Is national mixed doubles coach Paulus Firman parting ways with the BA of Malaysia (BAM)?
It was reported that the national body were considering extending the 53-year-old's contract until the 2024 Paris Olympics, but word has it that Paulus will not take up the offer and will return to Jakarta.
If it is true, Paulus will become the latest head coach to leave the national setup, following the arrival of doubles coaching director Rexy Mainaky last year.
Former women's doubles head coach Chan Chong Ming was the first to tender his resignation in December, followed by former women's singles head coach Indra Wijaya in February and men's doubles head coach Flandy Limpele last month.
Paulus first joined the national body as the men's doubles coach in 2013 before leaving for Manila a year later to be chief coach of the Philippines national team.
The Indonesian was then re-hired by BAM in 2018, where he played a pivotal role in guiding national No 1 Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik to the world's top 10.
In May 2020, Paulus was moved to the mixed doubles department, but speculations about his future quickly grew after top pairs Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai and Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing were dropped from the national team last year.
Despite all that, Paulus' charges Hoo Pang Ron-Cheah Yee See and Chen Tang Jie-Peck Yen Wein still inspired Malaysia to the semi-finals of the Sudirman Cup in Finland last October.
It remains to be seen if BAM will look for replacements to fill the void left by these head coaches or retain their current structure for another Olympic cycle.
If Paulus leaves, the mixed doubles department will come under the care of former international Teo Kok Siang.
Currently, there are no details on Paulus' future plans, but Timesport understands that he was approached by the Indonesian BA (PBSI) late last year.
BAM's coaching setup, excluding Paulus, consists of two coaching directors Rexy and Wong Choong Hann, and eight coaches, Hedrawan, Tey Seu Bock, K. Yogendran (men's singles), Tan Bin Shen (doubles), Loh Wei Sheng (women's singles), Hoon Thien How, Lee Meng Yean (doubles) and Kok Siang (mixed doubles).