The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) have cracked the whip on several underperforming shuttlers as they made a bold decision to drop Soniia Cheah, Goh Soon Huat, Shevon Lai, Lai Pei Jing and Vivian Hoo.

In a strongly worded statement, the national body said it made the decision through a meticulous and detailed assessment by the Coaching & Training committee.

“Strict orders have also been issued, particularly to the coaches of the men’s singles and women’s singles, to concentrate on improving the performances of every single player under their guidance. Their immediate target will be the forthcoming European circuit, after which another review will be conducted.

“With the back-to-back tournaments next month in Europe pivotal for the Tokyo Olympics, the intensity of national training will be stepped up significantly which includes mental training sessions for players,” read the statement.

Personnel in the sports science unit were also given firm key performance index and expected to work with more vigilance.

While dropping these shuttlers could be seen as a surprise move as tournaments have just resumed after so long, the BAM’s decision signaled a strong intent that they did not want any passengers in the national contingent.

The likes of Cheah did not show improvement in the last few years, and early round exits in Thailand only firmed the BAM's decision that she was not capable of making a turnaround despite being in contention to make the Olympics cut.

The same went for Hoo, who was past her prime and already said she intended to retire after the Olympics.

Goh-Shevon and Lai were perhaps the most surprising ones to be cut loose from the national team.

The former are ranked 10th in the world and recently made the semis of the 2020 BWF World Tour Finals, while Lai sits two rungs below with former partner Tan Kian Meng.

Tan was given a lifeline by the BAM, along with Hoo’s former partner Yap Cheng Wen with stern instructions to show rapid progress.

The BAM also promoted eight shuttlers to the national back-up squad.

They were Wyman Goh, Lee Shun Yang, Shaqeem Eiman, K.Letshanaa, Yap Roy King, Nurfirdaus Azman, Loo Bing Kun and Lwi Sheng Hao.

The national shuttlers will next prepare for the European events which consist of the Swiss Open (March 2-7), German Open (March 9-14) and the All-England Championships (March 17-21).

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