Malaysia is slated to host the upcoming Badminton Asia Team Championships in February, pending an approval from the government to get the nod to go ahead with the continental team championships.
“We have already been awarded by the Badminton Asia Confederation (BAC) to organise the event, but nothing is finalized as of now as we have some administrative matters that we need to look into,” the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) secretary-general Kenny Goh told Stadium Astro.
The onus is believed to be on the authorities to not only provide a green light, but also the list of Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for the biennial Asian team meet.
The funding of this tournament would be borne by the Selangor state government, so from a financial standpoint there isn’t any issue.
Neither is there any concern on the participating nations, especially powerhouses such as Indonesia and Japan.
“This is a qualifier for the Thomas Cup, so all teams would participate. We have proposed this event to be held in a bubble format,” Kenny added.
Traditionally any big events like this would take over a month to organise, and with COVID-19 restrictions a barrier to logistical operations such as the current seven-day quarantine period, a decision on the status of this event would have to be made soon.
The BAC chief operating officer Saw Chit Boon expects the authorities to give confirmation in the next week or two.
“We have finalised almost everything, so at this point only the government’s approval is pending,” he said.
The deadline for entry is January 31.
If it goes ahead, the Badminton Asia Team Championships would be the first tournament held in the country since the Malaysia Masters in January 2020.
The Malaysia men’s team finished as runners-up in the last edition in 2020 behind Indonesia, while the women’s team reached the semi-finals.
