Foul!

Surat layang , or rather ' mesej Whatsapp (or some will pronounce as Wasup) layang '. That was what I received this afternoon from a number that is not registered on my phone. The sender identified him/herself as " ahli yg memerhati tingkah laku BAM " (Badminton Association of Malaysia). The four chapters were titled as:  'Siapa dia Tan Sri BAM "Mr P"' Perletakan Jawatan Presiden BAM 'Siapa Tengku Zafrul' Kemelut Dalaman BAM There were many allegations to which the sender justified as not " fitnah " but " hakikat apa yg berlaku ". The four chapters highlights Mr P's "connection kuat ", goes into why Tengku Zafrul was named as the incoming BAM president, and takes issue with the establishment of 'Yayasan Badminton Nasional' and Akademi Badminton Malaysia. The writer (unsure if the sender is also the writer) also wrote that ' majority in the Council dalam BAM semua tak berani buat laporan sebab tak...

Shuttlers from around the globe will be in Kuala Lumpur from Oct 31 to Nov 5 for the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Tour Super 100 tournament, BERGAMOT Kuala Lumpur Masters Malaysia Super 100 2023.  The points earned during this Super 100 circuit will not only contribute to the qualification for the year-end BWF World Tour Finals but also play a crucial role in the Race to Paris Qualification. Get ready for world-class badminton action featuring exceptional players, including our local heroes, at the Stadium Titiwangsa. Secure your tickets for this Super 100 tournament starting from today, available online at https://my.bookmyshow.com /. KLBA President & BERGAMOT KL Masters Malaysia Super 100 2023 advisor, Datuk Seri Dr Jahaberdeen Mohamard Yunoos expressed his gratitude, as he thanked the BA of Malaysia for its unwavering support and for entrusting Kuala Lumpur BA to host the tournament.  "My sincere appreciation goes to our main sponsor, Kuala Lumpur City Hall, for its...

  There have been plenty of conversations about our national shuttlers going independent. There are those who don't see it as a problem. There are others who seem disturbed by it. But many of them seem to ignore the visions, missions and objectives of the BA of Malaysia (BAM). The image above, a screenshot from BAM's website , shows the objectives. Note: It does not read "owning players". The image below shows BAM's vision and mission. The mission states to have a big pool of world class players, bigger pool of back-up players and to implement development programmes. Once again, it does not say "to own players". As such, it comes to no surprise to why BAM has accommodated independent players as the leadership is simply keeping true to the national body's visions, missions and objectives. This is also reflected in the July 14, 2021 press statement below: And the statement by its president pubslihed in The Star  on July 24, 2021: BAM president Tan Sri ...

Going Nuts, by Graig Nunis - as published in Mailsport today A WEEK ago an old colleague brought a copy of the  New Straits Times  (NST) to the office. Nothing strange about that except it was dated July 9, 1996 and back then,  Malay Mail  was under the NSTP group. Ian Pereira, 73, who last month was inducted into Olympic Council of Malaysia's (OCM) Hall of Fame thought it would be a good idea for the younger journalists to see what a newspaper looked like nearly 20 years ago. What caught the eye was the back page picture which featured a streaker (her bottom blacked out and front partially facing away from the camera) running across the pristine Wimbledon grass courts. Nowadays, we might get in trouble if we show a little cleavage or belly button while recently NST even pixelated armpit hair! Hugging is apparently OK – but not if done by K-pop stars! How times have changed. Well, not everything. Take the BA of Malaysia (BAM) for exampl...

Comment by Tony Mariadass tmariadass@gmail.com HAS Lee Chong Wei courted more trouble pending his hearing by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) doping panel in December by sparring with national players at Juara Stadium in Bukit Kiara on Monday? Chong Wei is under provisional suspension after his A and B samples were positive for banned substance dexamethasone – a drug used to aid an athlete’s rehabilitation, which is permitted outside competition because it is not performance-enhancing. He tested positive at the World Championships in Copenhagen in August. Although it is only a provisional suspension, BA of Malaysia (BAM) should have known better than create any ripples which may see BWF looking at the situation as a direct defiance of the ban. Chong Wei’s intentions may be noble – to help his teammates prepare for the Axiata Cup (Nov 26–Dec 7) and Macau Open (Nov 25-30) – but he does not need this unnecessary attention. For all we know, Chong Wei’s unblemished ...

Haresh Says, as published in Malay Mail today. TO bask in the spotlight over the effort of another comes natural to many. A victory would see these individuals shamelessly associating themselves with the victor, as he is welcomed home to a glorified heroes return. Sadly, Lee Chong Wei can only count on a handful of ‘friends’ who remain by his side, hoping for a positive outcome when he faces a hearing by a three-member panel from the Badminton World Federation soon. He could face a two-year ban. The world No 1 has been temporarily suspended after testing positive for dexamethasone during an anti-doping test at the World Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark on Aug 30. The saga shocked many but the turn of events remain baffling. There seems to be more questions than answers. The Penangite underwent a stem-cell surgery at a clinic recommended by the National Sports Institute (NSI) on July 17. During the surgery, it was learnt that he was jabbed with d...

Beregu nombor satu negara, Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong terpaksa ‘berehat panjang’ apabila nama mereka tidak disenaraikan oleh Persatuan Badminton Malaysia (BAM) untuk beraksi di Seluruh England yang berlangsung 4 Mac ini.  Berdasarkan senarai nama pemain dikeluarkan Persekutuan Badminton Dunia (BWF), hanya tiga beregu lelaki negara, Hoon Thien How-Tan Wee Kiong dan Goh V Shem-Lim Khim Wah selain pasangan profesional, Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif-Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari yang menggalas cabaran Malaysia di kejohanan berprestij berkenaan dan layak beraksi terus ke undian utama.   Berita terbaru itu sekali gus mengundang persoalan adakah BAM sebenarnya sudah membuat keputusan mengenai masa depan mereka dengan ia dijangka diumumkan selepas cuti perayaan Tahun Baru Cina.  Baca laporan penuh disini . HD says: About time?

They rallied the crowd to cheer them on during the match and rightfully gave badminton enthusiasts something to cheer about. Goh V Shem and Lim Khim Wah defeated China pair Chai Biao-Hong Wei 21-19, 21-18 in the men’s doubles final at the Malaysia Open over the weekend. Both pairs provided a breath of fresh air for their character and eagerness to outdo each other proved badminton was alive at the Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil. Goh and Lim made up for the disappointing outing provided by top national doubles pair Koo Kean Keat-Tan Boon Heong who were smashed out in the first round of the competition last week. World No.1 Lee Chong Wei, meanwhile, was reduced to tears as he fell on his knees and thanked the Almighty after netting his 10th Malaysia Open title. He edged Indonesian Tommy Sugiarto 21-19, 21-9 in the men’s single final. Two contrasting tales — one of an upcoming pair who, hopefully, have plenty more to offer while the other is about an aging hero who has hinted of han...

WHEN something is not doing well, we introduce changes.   When something is doing well, we implement more changes.   Even when nothing is happening, we will still say change-lah.   We love changes, whether it makes any sense or otherwise. The question remains — will the changes solve the very many issues at hand?   Many new direction, directives and policies have been implemented at various levels within the local sports scene. We had the implementation of the 1Student 1Sport policy by the Education Ministry in 2011. It was to see the participation of more students in sports. I, among the very many, was skeptical over the new directive for a similar policy was seen in the 1990s where every student was supposed to partake in one club, one uniformed body and one sporting activity. Yet, it did not address the fact that students were very much academically inclined and the lack of playing space and equipment further frustrated the cause.   It is of no...

A national coach calls it quits while later in the day, the BA of Malaysia's glass door apparently shatters and collapses. The rest is up to your imagination. National doubles men coach Paulus Firman confirmed he will be leaving Kuala Lumpur soon. He cited "family problems" after having spent some 10 months with the national stable. Read more of what Paulus had to say in Mailsport today. HD says: All the best coach.

Haresh Says, as published in The Malay Mail today Over the weekend, I went through a power point presentation on common mistakes observed during a change in management. Mistake No 7 read: Not dealing proactively with resistance. This immediately nudged me to the current badminton scenario in the national badminton scene. To say the BA of Malaysia (BAM) are facing turmoil is not exactly accurate. But there are issues, unnecessary issues that have created an unwanted headache to those in BAM.  The Rashid Sidek saga has opened a can of worms. Read more on page 45 .

Let's start the week with some life lessons. Trust William Shakespeare once said: Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none while Stephen King said: The trust of the innocent is the liar's most useful tool Jealousy American science fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein describes jealousy as: A competent and self-confident person is incapable of jealousy in anything. Jealousy is invariably a symptom of neurotic INSECURITY William Penn had this to say about jealous people: The jealous are troublesome to others but a torment to themselves Respect - a word not many understand. Albert Einstein said: Let every man be respected as an individual and no man idolised But my personal favourite is a quote by Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson - an American baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball. I'm not concerned with your liking or disliking me...all I ask is that you respect me as a human being  ...

The 2013 Sudirman Cup will be remembered for the wrong reason. As Malaysia play host, the national shuttlers simply failed in their quest after losing 3-2 to Germany in the second group stage match en route to being smashed out of the tournament. The national team had lost 3-2 to Taiwan on Sunday. New Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin was clearly irked with the performance of the team as he  tweeted: "...BAM you are in a crisis" right after Malaysia lost the match at the Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil. The result comes at a bad timing for the BA of Malaysia (BAM) who are already struggling to justify its presence in the Badminton Asian Confederation (BAC) in the form of Nadzmi Salleh who now heads both BAM and BAC. Many continue to lambast the national association for its failure to address the common issues at home - most importantly the poor standards of play adopted by the national shuttlers - but prefers to head regional and world bodies instead....

"This is my last term with BAM as president and the executive council (exco) members have urged me to go for it. I have agreed." Those were the words of Nadzmi Salleh ( pic ) as reported here . It is important to have some form of representation within the world body. However, should Nadzmi eye for the job? With all due respect, Nadzmi has got bigger issues to deal with at home. For starters, the nation is certainly heading toward Indonesia's direction as to the serious lacking of talents. The country continues to pin its hopes on world No 1 Lee Chong Wei - but for how long? Also, the nagging issue of players from clubs not given the due respect they deserve. While the BA of Malaysia may say otherwise, the presumption still lingers that club players are continued to be sidelined. Nevertheless, we now have the Sports Minister handing out money to a particular club and to quickly add that other clubs also deserve funding by the ministry. Good recognition but who ...