Grassroots development can succeed with better collab between BAM and states

Sixteen junior players can breathe a sigh of relief after Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) president Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz allowed them to compete in the Junior Elite Tour, starting today in Johor.

Zafrul, who has emphasised the importance of grassroots development in the country, has walked the talk with his swift action.

Initially, the BAM did not allow them to participate, saying that students studying in Selangor cannot play for Putrajaya, but Zafrul decided to make an exemption.

The exemption though should not be a one-off.

In the first place, players should not be denied spots in junior tournaments merely because they are schooling in one state and representing another.

Zafrul said the Malaysian School Sports Council (MSSM) ruling which states that athletes can only represent the states they are schooling in was brought in during a BAM council meeting last October.

Why was this rule only recently introduced?

The 16 players have in fact been representing Putrajaya and playing in national junior tournaments for at least two years and hold the state ID.

Parents from Selangor send their children to Putrajaya to train because the location is more convenient for them and they are happy with the training environment there.

They also cannot send their children to schools in Putrajaya because there are no vernacular schools there.

Selangor is a huge state and already has too many junior players. Not all players will be selected to compete in tournaments.

Most disturbingly, according to accounts from parents, the rule on players only allowed to represent the states where they are schooling in seems to have been abused.

Apparently, the 16 players were not the only ones who are schooling in one state and representing another.

There are more players but the others were allowed to compete in the Junior Elite Tour earlier.

Why was there such a discrepancy?

Zafrul has said one of his goals as BAM president is to cast the net wider in the efforts of increasing the talent pool in the country.

Some flexibility is needed for the country’s young talents to flourish and one day play for the country.

For Malaysia to truly become a top badminton nation to rival China, Indonesia, South Korea and Japan, talent identification and grassroots development must be better.

Political motives should not stop young talents from developing.

A quick look at the latest world rankings list will show that Malaysia only have more than one representative in the top 10 in the men’s doubles.

The pairs are world No. 2 Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, world No. 6 Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun and independents Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani (No. 8).

Undoubtedly, the only event where the country has strong depth is men’s doubles.

In the women’s doubles, we are overly reliant on world No. 2 Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah, and the same goes for mixed doubles where we depend a lot on reigning world champions and world No. 4 Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei.

In both the men’s and women’s singles, currently, we don’t even have a player in the world’s top 20.

Malaysia simply cannot afford to let young talents slip away.

Datuk Seri Lee Chong Wei, who used to carry the torch for Malaysia in the men’s singles during his playing days, has been trying to bring changes in his role as BAM performance committee chairman.

Chong Wei’s latest proposal is the creation of a new position to ensure that the training model and philosophy used in the national squad are also adopted across all states.

The former world No. 1 believes it is crucial that the training model used at the national elite level is also implemented at the state level, so that young players already have a strong foundation before being promoted to the national squad.

His initiative is laudable but can Chong Wei truly succeed in the face of issues like the eligibility of the players in a junior competition which will likely crop up again during the next junior event?

He needs to be given full support and his efforts should not be disrupted due to political motivations or abuse of power from certain parties in BAM.

Sports should be free of politics and all actions taken or efforts made must only be for the betterment of badminton in the country.

If not, we will struggle to improve the strength in depth in the singles, women’s and mixed doubles and continuously produce top stars like Pearly-Thinaah and Tang Jie-Ee Wei in the future.

If Zafrul truly wants to improve the grassroots development in the country, there has to be better collaboration between the states and BAM.