BADMINTON
Relief for Boon Heong who forked out own money to save his academy
Tan Boon Heong expressed a huge sigh of relief following the government’s decision to allow badminton halls for business again, which means he does not have to dig into his savings to keep his TBH Badminton Academy afloat.
The former world number one doubles ace was among the millions of business owners in the country who were affected when the coronavirus pandemic forced all sporting activities to be closed for almost three months.
“Thankfully there has been a leeway to allow badminton business owners to operate. There hasn’t been training in my academy for a long time and as a result the coaching staff have no income.
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“The academy was not making any money, but I still had to think of my full-time coaches. The Indonesian trainers needed money to pay their phone bills and installments for their motorcycles. I had to fork out my own savings to pay them first,” Tan told Harian Metro.
The good news for badminton operators came on Monday after Youth & Sports Minister Reezal Merican announced badminton courts can reopen from June 15 onwards, subject to strict standard operating procedures.
— KBSMalaysia (@KBSMalaysia) June 8, 2020
There are 18 management protocols that needs to be adhered to by operators, including recording details of everyone who enters the vicinity, disinfecting equipments before and after usage and limiting the number of people in shower and changing rooms.
Tan has been busy with media commitments during the Movement Control Order period.
The former Asian Games champion recently admitted he could have achieved bigger things in his career if he wasn’t swayed by the lure of fame and success during his decade long partnership with Koo Kien Kiat.
The pair are still considered one of the best doubles pairs the country has produced after reaching the world number one status on two occasions in 2007 and 2010.
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