On The Ball: BAM must ensure coaching talent leaves a legacy

IF there is one thing about the BA of Malaysia (BAM) that we have to admire, it has to be its ability to hire the best when it comes to coaching talent.

Former world champion Hendrawan of Indonesia is the latest big name coach to be hired and he will surely have an impact on Malaysian badminton.

The only question is how much?

BAM has, since the 1980s, been bringing in high profile coaches and their contributions to the national team have been immense but that is not where the problem lies in Malaysian badminton.

As seen in the recent Yonex-Sunrise Malaysia Open Grand Prix Gold, the country is seriously lacking in talent below the national team.
If China are bold enough to expose players like men's singles finalist Chen Long and women's singles Wang Shixian, Malaysia had to field their best to ensure there would be returns in what is basically a second grade tournament.

No doubt, badminton has consistently delivered medals for Malaysia at the world stage but there can be no denying that it has been a mere trickle considering the nation's history in the sport.

This is why questions are already being asked about life after Lee Chong Wei.

Sure, he is in the form of his life and if he doesn't fumble, the World Championships title is within reach in August but what about the other singles players in the national squad?

For that matter, what exactly can we hope for from the impressively named men's singles back-up elite players?

The best performer from this batch was Tan Chun Seang but his campaign ended in the quarter-finals. Chun Seang is 22 but lost to Chen Long, who is two years younger.

What is really alarming is that after Chong Wei, Malaysia's best performer in the men's singles was 32-year-old Wong Choong Hann, and he is no longer with the national squad.

The situation in the men's doubles, women's singles and women's doubles is pretty much the same and the fact that Wong Mew Choo lost to China's Wang Xin, who had to go through a qualifying round to play in the tournament proper, shows how serious the situation is.

So BAM, as it basks in the glory of having lured yet another high profile coach into its stable, must ensure that Hendrawan's talents are utilised to the maximum.

In fact, this should apply to all coaches in the BAM stable.

Currently, most of the nation's future players are based in Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) but what BAM needs to do is increase the pool in the states.

BAM has to accept that the players in BJSS are not necessarily the future of Malaysian badminton and it should send its coaches, no matter how busy their schedule, to conduct training sessions and share knowledge with state-level coaches.

Badminton is not in the alarming state that football is but we can never be sure and seeing as BAM still has the ability to lure top quality coaches to our shores, it has to make sure that their talent is not wasted.

NST