Badminton

Professionals will have access to ABM facilities

KUALA LUMPUR: BA of Malaysia (BAM) high performance director, Dr Tim Jones assured that professional shuttlers will be allowed to train and utilise facilities at the Academy Badminton Malaysia (ABM) as soon as possible.

This comes after enthusiastic local fans urged the national body to speed up the process, following the impressive showing of several independent players on the international stage.

At the ongoing Super 750 Denmark Open in Odense, five independent players, including world No 3 men's singles Lee Zii Jia reached the semi-finals on Friday.

The other four are men's doubles Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi and mixed doubles duo Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai.

When contacted by Timesport, Jones said: "The details are pretty much there for the independent players. Just need to send it out to the singles. The doubles have almost agreed.

"We hope to have something out next week.

"It's always tricky around tournaments, we don't want to cause distraction to the players."

BAM first announced that they were open to inviting professional players to train alongside their own in August.

However, it has taken both parties longer than expected to iron out the finer details.

Local badminton fans, who have been keeping tabs closely, are growing impatient as they want to see Malaysia's best working together immediately.

When asked if the collaboration would kick off next year, Jones added: "Once we put the terms out then it could start immediately. It's just awaiting the last exact confirmation for how we will set the bar to start the process.

"This is going to be something that may need to evolve over time based on the wants and needs from both sides.

"The ultimate aim is the same for everyone — for Malaysia to be a stronger force in world badminton."

Most Popular
Related Article
Says Stories