Foul!

Picture from Hafiz Hashim's Facebook National shuttler Hafiz Hashim said he is willing to give up playing and turn to coaching if the deal with the BA of Malaysia (BAM) is right. The 2003 All-England men’s singles champion met BAM technical director Morten Frost this morning over the possibility of coaching the national women’s singles team. "I just met Frost and everything went well. It sounded positive," said Hafiz. "I've not accepted anything yet. There are still several details to look into, especially my salary and sponsorship deals. As you know I'm still playing and have obligations. "I'm willing to give up playing, if the deal is right," he added. Hafiz, 34, said there will be another meeting between him and Frost "soon". "If the terms are right, then I'll be looking at joining BAM after the SEA Games, by September perhaps." Hafiz has been playing for Petaling Jaya Badminton Club in the Purple L...

As published in Malay Mail today By Haresh Deol haresh@mmail.com.my PETALING JAYA — The BA of Malaysia (BAM) say it is unwise to place additional pressure on Lee Chong Wei as Malaysians continue to bank on the national shuttler to deliver the nation’s first Olympic gold medal in August.   The national body’s acting president Tan Sri Mohamed Al Amin Abd Majid said fans should keep calm and not brush aside Lee’s opponents at the Rio de Janeiro Games which will feature the best in the world,.     Lee got badminton fans elated after winning the Indonesian Open yesterday. His journey to the final earned him enough points to top the world rankings — a position he once held from 2006 to 2014.   “We are happy he is back at the top spot in the world rankings but let’s not get overly hyped up ... let’s not be caught in this (frenzy),” he said.   Al Amin, who is also the chef de mission for the Games, said it was unfair to say Lee was the only person capable of cl...

1934-1937: John L. Woods 1947-1949: Lim Chuan Geok 1949:        Heah Joo Seang 1950-1953: Khoo Teik Foo 1954-1959: Heah Joo Seang 1960:     Low Hoot Yeang 1961-1985: Tan Sri Mohd Khir Johari 1985-1993: Tan Sri Elyas Omar 1993-2000: Datuk Dr Abdullah Fadzil Che Wan 2000-2013: Datuk Sri Mohd Nadzmi Mohd Salleh 2013-2015: Tengku Tan Sri Mahaleel Tengku Ariff Oct 18, 2015 (acting president):   Tan Sri Al Amin Mohamed Al-Amin Abd Majid

The BA of Malaysia (BAM) have acknowledged not registering players for the Asia Youth Under-15 and Under-17 championships. BAM secretary Ng Chin Chai said this was a decision made by the talent management group (TMG) then. "The juniors came under the purview of the TMG and it was decided at that time we will not participate in the competition," said Ng. "I'm not sure why as I was not privy to the decision made by the TMG but we will not be able to send anyone as it is way past the closing date." Read here for more . HD says: Baffled to why our young shuttlers were not sent for a tournament in a neighbouring country. 

While attention was focused on internal matters leading to the resignations of national coach Rashid Sidek and talent management group director (TMG) Tan Aik Mong, the BA of Malaysia (BAM) seem to have forgotten about the Badminton Asia Youth Under-15 and Under-17 championships. Checks on the Badminton Asia Confederation (BAC) website revealed not a single Malaysian shuttler was registered for the regional age-group tournament to be held in Kudus, Indonesia on Oct 8-13. The deadline for the registration of players was Sept 17. This comes about as BAM president Tengku Mahaleel Tengku Ariff is set to be acting TMG director and strives to be a hands-on president, as reported here . Meanwhile, the organiser of the Malaysia-FC Barcelona match held at the Shah Alam Stadium last month has been blacklisted by the Shah Alam City Council. Read more on the backpage of The Malay Mail today. HD says: Hope someone within BAM would be able to clarify to why not a single Malaysian i...

The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) is not ruling out the possibility of taking legal action against former national singles head coach, Rashid Sidek, for reportedly signing a one-year contract with Indian Badminton League (IBL) side, Delhi Smashers. BAM president Tan Sri Tengku Mahaleel Tengku Ariff, however, said the national badminton body would first have to clarify the matter with the New Delhi-based club, reported Bernama . However, Rashid smashed the national body by saying: “I only signed for the tournament period (two weeks). It was during our free time, and the previous management knew and approved the deal. “I was not the only coach and several of our national players also played in the league. “If they (BAM) wanted to take action, then they should have done so when I and the rest of the Malaysians returned home.” Read the full report here . HD says: Hmm...

Rashid Sidek has decided to walk out of the BA of Malaysia. While some may see it as a surprise, those within the fraternity could smell trouble brewing the minute several changes were made - from the new line-up to the coaching structure. The national singles coach, who has spent 10 years with the national body, was apparently "unhappy with several decisions" prompting him to tender his resignation letter earlier today. BAM's Talent Management Group director Tan Aik Mong confirmed Rashid's resignation as per his statement in the press release by BAM above. Rashid, who won the 1996 Atlanta Olympics bronze medal, is the second Sidek in recent years to leave the stable as brother Misbun left in a rather sour note two years ago. Ironically, another Sidek brother - Razif - has joined BAM recently, despite being very critical of the national body in the past. A press conference will be held on Friday morning (11.30am). Apparently newly elected BAM president...

BA of Malaysia president Nadzmi Salleh spoke to the Media after the Exco meeting yesterday. Here are two points taken from an 18:05s video clip from Satwant Singh’s blog . Point 1 “We deliberated at length, about Koo (Kien Keat) and Tan (Boon Heong)..you know there are a lot of opinion about this pair…this pair has approached us. They would like us to consider giving them the last chance for the World Championships next year. We deliberated that at length and we finally decided…of course I don’t want to tell you what went on in the discussion but we finally decided we give them the last chance because this is what they want and we will make it very clear to them that this is the last chance for them but despite of that we will also expose them to other partners in the lesser tournaments.  If they can’t make it by the time of the World Championships or don’t perform well, we have other partners to partner them. The target for them must be very clear and the exco r...

Not many may know what the Malaysia Convention and Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB) is all about. But trust me, they have been quietly working on many projects in getting world events into Malaysia. Read more of MyCEB here . I was part of a panelist for Astro Awani's Sports Industry programme at Berjaya Times Square on Friday. It was there I met MyCEB International Events general manager Tony Nagamiah. Sadly, time didn't permit us to dwell further about MyCEB's future initiatives after the show. But I do know that MyCEB is working closely with the BA of Malaysia (BAM) not only to host the 2013 Sudirman Cup but also other events. The Star had published an article on MyCEB yesterday. "For Malaysia, sports tourism accounted for RM5bil last year, a growing segment in its overall tourism revenue of RM58.3bil. Malaysia holds great potential in growing this sector and it is for this reason that it aims to become a major sports tourism destination in the region." ...

UPDATE: An influential weapon - From the Sidelines. ------- I was at a function over the weekend when a government official admitted he was surprised to see the huge turnout for the Bersih 3.0 rally in KL. "There was no publicity in the newspapers and yet the organisers managed to gather so many people." I smiled and said; "They don't need the newspapers anymore. Twitter, blog and Facebook is good enough to create such an impact." It's sad that as a true blue newspaper man, who still enjoy getting my fingers dirty with ink flipping through the pages of a newspaper, I have to admit that social media is where the masses especially the youths read up and disseminate information. We knew about it - even before the 2008 elections. Yet, the old-timers- till today - don't take it seriously. Prime Minister Najib Razak even made an announcement recently that candidates on Twitter more likely to be selected for the coming General Election. Ownin...

I received this email on Feb 27, 2012 which read; I read in total disgust that a good coach is leaving his players, yet another time. http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2012/2/27/central/10778655&sec=central Reasons for him leaving is stated clearly in above article. Or is it? 2 weeks back, an incident at a badminton tournament in Kangar, Perlis involving his assistant coach with some players and a parent was the tip of the iceberg. The ugly side of sports. Players were slapped by the assistant coach, a brawl in the hotel between the assistant coach and a parent ended up with broken glasses, furnitures and a police report! Worst still, it had to be witnessed by innocent, young players who are still teenagers and kids. The result, the assistant coach was suspended by the association and, the chief coach is leaving. According to some players, it is a normal occurrence during their training sessions that physical and verbal abuses are being hurled at them by the assistant ...

Mailsport highlighted that Zulfadli Zulkifli has been lured by the USA Badminton Association to play for the USA as seen here . SS Dhaliwal, had in his blog, questioned Zulfadli's much awaited reward since last year as seen through the title of his blog post 'Why the delay NSC?' The BA of Malaysia (BAM) would now want to reward Zulfadli through their own incentive scheme and is hoping Zulfadli will stay put in Malaysia. Read BAM secretary Ng Chin Chai's ( pic ) thoughts here . Most players would not think twice to play for USA. It's even easier for LA-born Zulfadli since his dad has been living there since his varsity days and even coached the US team in the early 90s. Zulkifli knows most of the players and US BA officials there. Let's give Zulfadli a darn good reason to stay put in the country. And this isn't about money where the USA will be able to offer more. HD says: Life isn't all about money. It's about paying respect and acknowledging a perso...

It is no secret I enjoy a cordial relationship with the Olympic Council of Malaysia, especially with its secretary Sieh Kok Chi ( pic ). Reason? I am always able to get into a friendly debate with Kok Chi and we often end the conversation on a good note. It's always a learning experience talking to him. But we've also agreed to disagree on certain things. We spoke about three issues. Gan Teik Chai-Tan Bin Shen and the BA of Malaysia; Jawariah Nordin and the Lawn Tennis Association of Malaysia AND the power tussle within the Malaysian Snooker and Billiards Federation. I respect Kok Chi's thoughts on the issues although I do not completely agree with him. But our rather long conversation, at the expense of someone else's phone (sorry bro hehe), enlighten us. Food for thought: 1 Gan Teik Chai-Tan Bin Shen and BAM a. Shouldn't BAM admit their mistake, compensate and move on? b. Wouldn't BAM do the same if Koo Kien Keat missed out the China Masters ? c. Since Teik Ch...

Some claim he craves the limelight. Those who know him better say is a nice bubbly chap. The fact remains, James Selvaraj ( pic ) is a rather well decorated former national shuttler in the 70s. Many would know him better as Mr Bata. Today he also serves as the BA of Malaysia high performance director - but not for long though. It looks like James is equally eager to see the outcome of the coaching and training meeting on Thursday. If favourable, he would know what to tell Bata at the end of the year. Otherwise, he will brace for another year or two of working life at the shoe manufacturing company. James didn't need to talk much as his body language said it all here . HD says: Interesting times eh.

National doubles players Fairuzizuan Tazari and Zakry Abdul Latif announced their move to club side KLRC at KL Hilton today. The duo left the national stable on Aug 20 . KLRC director Andrew Kam had earlier hosted members of the Press and guests to a Hari Raya do at the same venue. Present were Badminton Association of Malaysia high performance director James Selvaraj and former doubles expert Razif Sidek. Many began to ponder if Razif and James could also be part of the KLRC family. After a lengthy discussion about investing in gold, I asked Andrew of KLRC's role and it being seen as a threat to the national stable. It is no secret clubs in this country are often seen as "competition" by the regulatory body as evident in football. To that Andrew said; "Our role is to complement (BAM). If people want to think otherwise, then I can't do much." HD says: BAM or KLRC, the players are playing for Malaysia.

...blame all sports organisations. Why? They have resulted in a system which is just dumb-founding if not ridiculous. Flashback during the KL v Kelantan match at Selayang Stadium last week. Several KL FA officials were lamented they do not get any support from the current KL Mayor Ahmad Fuad Ismail. They used to get RM1 million from Ahmad Fuad's predecessors. Let's be reminded then city mayor Elyas Omar gave KLFA money and land. So KLFA has been pampered. They only want handouts. No initiative to run a website, or a blog which is free. No effort. In fact, NST's Devinder Singh has more records on KL for the past two decades than KLFA. What is the return of investment? Oh wait, do they know what is return of investment? It's no different with the BA of Malaysia (BAM). Doubles specialists Fairuzizuan Tazari and Zakry Abdul Latif ( pic L-R ) have left the national badminton team, as reported here . Bernama reported Sports Minister Ahmad Shabery Ch...

The alternative dispute resolution could solve the episode involving Gan Teik Chai-Tan Bin Shen and the BA of Malaysia (BAM). And it looks the national body have no qualms sorting it out with the Olympic Council of Malaysia as reported here . Meanwhile, BAM admitted the registration of independent players for tournaments ought to be reviewed. Read more here . HD says: Here's hoping for a fairy tale ending.

It seems so. Former BA of Malaysia (BAM) shuttler K.Yogendran ( pic ) claims his name is missing from the list of the upcoming Vietnam Open later this month. And he claims this is not the first time. Yogendran was a bitter man when he found out the Selangor BA failed to register his name for the Malaysia Open last year. He then found comfort with the KL BA. However, he now faces the same problem. Yogendran maintains he doesn't want to play the blame game. He just wants an easier way for independent players to register for tournaments. Perhaps it is time to address such a matter. Read more of Yogendran's predicament in today's Mailsport . HD says: All players should be treated fairly.