Foul!

As published in Sunday Mail today Malaysian badminton fans have been left disappointed for far too long and only by winning the Thomas Cup would renew their faith into the sport, says Tan Sri Elyas Omar. Elyas, who was the Badminton Association of Malaysia president when the nation last won the prestigious tournament in 1992, hoped the national shuttlers would remain composed as they take on Japan in the final at the Siri Fort Stadium in New Delhi, India, at 3pm local time (5.30pm in Malaysia). “Yes, of course (fans have been left disappointed) ... for the past 22 years,” said Elyas, who was also former mayor of Kuala Lumpur. “This is the best chance and I believe they did not even expect to play in the final given the line-up but let’s not put pressure on them, let’s motivate them instead.” Elyas said the players must overcome the pressure and maintain their fighting spirit instead of being jittery on the court. He recalled the motivational words he uttered to former ...

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...

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 .

UPDATE 5.41pm: Here's another press release by the BA of Malaysia.The press release below was published at 3.41pm.

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...