The national shuttlers will be relishing the prospect of returning to the badminton courts in less than a month after the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) confirmed they have seeked approval for training to restart.
“Pending approval from the National Security Council and Youth and Sports Ministry, players are expected to start training by June 1, beginning with players from the Road to Tokyo programme.
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“The ABM (Akademi Badminton Malaysia) houses the players, coaches and BAM administrative office thus all Standard Operating Procedures has been stepped up and will be followed to the strictest degree,” said BAM president Norza Zakaria.
Training at the ABM has not taken place since the Movement Control Order was imposed on March 18, with many of the 120 national shuttlers returning to their homes after being confirmed to their dormitories in the first few weeks of lockdown.
Following the government’s directive of allowing non-contact sports such as badminton and cycling to resume, BAM held a discussion with the Youth & Sports Ministry for permission for training to resume.
Norza also confirmed the independent shuttlers who are most likely to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics will be invited to train at the ABM with the national squad by mid-July.
As it stands, mixed doubles pair Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying and men’s doubles pairs of Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong and Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi are in contention to make the cut for Tokyo.
Besides that, the president has also urged the national team to ramp up their preparations for the rescheduled Thomas & Uber Cup in Aarhus, Denmark from 3-11 October, 2020.
The independent shuttlers are expected to join the national squad for this biennial event as well.
Malaysia will be confident of making an impact at this team championships after an impressive showing at the Asia Team Championships in February.
The men’s team led by Lee Zii Jia reached the final before losing 3-1 to Indonesia, while the women’s team made the semi-finals before suffering a 3-0 defeat to champions Japan.
