KL badminton chief must go: Sidek

KL badminton chief must go: Sidek

JAKARTA (JP): Malaysia's Nusa Mahsuri coach Misbun Sidek said
on Saturday Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) president
Abdullah Fadzil Che Wan should stick to his plan to quit after
his team's disappointing Thomas Cup showing.

"Whatever the decision made by the BAM Council members, Fadzil
should stand firm with his pledge to quit. Fadzil should have
known the implications before staking his job on a Malaysian
victory," Misbun, a former singles champion who helped to coach
the country's team, was quoted as saying by Bernama.

In a move anticipated by many, the council decided on Friday
to turn down Fadzil's resignation.

Fadzil vowed to resign after his team was beaten by Denmark in
round-robin matches and shut out of the semifinals, its second
worst showing during his tenure since the 1996 Thomas Cup in Hong
Kong.

He previously said BAM would consider hiring foreign coaches,
including from Indonesia, to help the association boost its
players' performance in international events.

Separately, Malaysia Youth and Sports Minister Datuk
Hishammudin Tun Hussein requested BAM study its weaknesses and
said the results could lead to changes in the organization.

"We acknowledge that there are weaknesses (in BAM's set-up)..
we know there are shortages of trainees and the pool of players."

Hishammudin said BAM might need to form two groups of
shuttlers, one an elite squad and the other composed of back-up
players who would be evaluated purely on their ability to
perform.

He also advised BAM officials against taking drastic actions
because they could affect Malaysian shuttlers in the Olympic
Games in Sydney in September. (yan)