Yoke Meng out of national juniors, now to handle U-13 girls

PETALING JAYA: Thomas Cup winner Kwan Yoke Meng’s days with the national junior team look to be numbered.

The 54-year-old was handed yet another “demotion” when he was put in charge of the girls’ Under-13 development squad following a revamp of the national junior coaching set up revamp announced by the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) yesterday.

Yoke Meng had been the national junior squad (then known as Bukit Jalil Sports School squad) chief coach for nearly five years before Datuk Misbun Sidek was appointed national junior director early in January.

He was then reduced to being one of five coaches in the boys’ Under-18 squad.The latest development comes as a fresh blow for Yoke Meng, who also coached the senior team from 1993-2003.

It seems to make no sense to break the girls Under-15 squad into three different age groups – Under-15, Under-14 and Under-13, when the boys are all bunched as one Under-15 boys group overseen by Hafiz Hashim and Alvin Chew.

The girls’ Under-15 and Under-14 squads are handled by long-serving Chinese coach Zhang Hongyu.

BAM development committee chairman Datuk Ng Chin Chai said Yoke Meng should relish his new role to help churn out potential women shuttlers for the future.

“We put him there because a lot needs to be done for the Under-13 girls,” said Chin Chai.

“Our women’s team have always been seen as weaker than the men. We need to put a lot emphasis on the girls’ development.

“So we really do need a man of Yoke Meng’s calibre to handle the group. That’s why we also have Hongyu, who’s with us for over 20 years, there for the Under-14 and Under-15s.”