KUALA LUMPUR: There is a proposal for the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) to reward the unsung personnel behind Malaysia’s strong performances at the Thomas Cup Finals in New Delhi recently.
Malaysia’s team led by world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei went down fighting to Japan 2-3 in a six-hour thrilling final tie on May 25 - the final was the nation’s first in 12 years.
For finishing as the runners-up, Chong Wei and every other player in the team - Chong Wei Feng, Liew Daren, Goh Soon Huat, Tan Boon Heong-Hoon Thien How, Tan Wee Kiong-Goh V Shem and Chan Peng Soon, is entitled to receive RM25,000 each under the national body’s incentive scheme.
On Monday, deputy president Datuk Norza Zakaria said that he had suggested that BAM appreciate all the hard work put in by the coaches and National Sports Institute (NSI) too during the Finals.
Currently, there is no special incentive scheme for the coaches and Norza feels that the support staff deserve a pat on the back for their part in the success of the team.
“I was there (in New Delhi) throughout the competition and I saw all the activities behind the scenes. I saw how the coaches rallied behind all the players and the sacrifices made in preparing the team. I also saw the dedication shown by the NSI team,” said Norza.
“They worked together as a team and it was this unity that saw our team going all the way to the final. I am so proud of the whole group. They were not expected to go far but they defied the odds.
“I have put forward this idea to our president (Tengku Tan Sri Mahaleel Tengku Ariff) and hopefully, the national body will look into this,” he added.
The coaches with the men’s team were singles chief coach Rashid Sidek, Tey Seu Bock (men’s singles), Pang Cheh Chang (men’s doubles) and Jeremy Gan (men’s doubles), while the NSI team consisted of Jerry Gan (performance analyst), Fadzil Salleh and Sandra Fiedler (physiotherapists), Chai Wen Jin (nutritionist), How Peck Ngor (psychologist), Lim Joe Heang (conditioning specialist) and Zhang Xin Tao, Li Da Zhi and Sebah Kari (masseurs).
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