PETALING JAYA: Eight former badminton greats have taken on the monumental task of unearthing new talents – a dearth faced by country – the unorthodox way.
Instead of going through the run of the mill method, former Olympic Games silver medallist Cheah Soon Kit and former Thomas Cup winners Foo Kok Keong and Rahman Sidek and ex-national players Ong Ewe Hock, Roslin Hashim, Zakry Abdul Latif, Koo Kien Keat and Woon Khe Wei will be going down to the grassroots in their search for a raw gem or two.
They will undertake to form eight teams of 12 players each and none of these players can be taken from the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) or the Bukit Jalil Sports Schools (BJSS) to contest in the mix team event – the inaugural Piala Juara Tangkis Tun Dr Siti Hasmah in December.
The 96 players involved will be selected based on recommendations from the state associations and clubs while the coaches themselves can also recommend their own players to play in the Under-18 tournament.
The main objective is to identify, nurture and establish players capable of making the grade for future national team.
Programme director Rashid Sidek is adamant their think-outside-the box concept will work.
“I am excited to kick-start this programme where we can identify new talents and assess their passion and commitment to the sport and their desire to win, ” said Rashid at the launch of the tournament at Menara OBYU here yesterday.
“We got the idea for this because we realise we have many ex-players and not many of them have had a chance to contribute to the sport.
“So we have this programme where they can be role models for the youngsters and to share their knowledge and experience so that their talent can grow.
“Naming it after our first lady of badminton is very apt as no one has been the strongest fan and supporter of Malaysian badminton than Tun Dr Siti, who was there when we lifted the Thomas Cup in 1992.”
Rashid added that players who impressed will be accepted into the Sports Affairs Badminton Club.
Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali, the wife of Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, attended yesterday’s launch.
BAM president Datuk Seri Norza Zakaria said that this is a welcomed addition to their programmes where the main focus is on junior development.
“As of next year we will bring all the players from BJSS to Academy Badminton Malaysia (ABM) together with our senior players under one roof, so the academy will be a prestigious one consisting of the best of the best in Malaysia.
“The academy will welcome players from Sports Affairs and the new programme involving former players.”
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