New deal: (From left) Coach Yeoh Kay Bin, NVBA director Sugita Kunalan, BCA chief executive officer Jeff Shigoli and BCA head of operations Rajae Rochdy posing after signing a four-year deal.
PETALING JAYA: With great power comes great responsibility.
But Rexy Mainaky is ready to shoulder the heavy task to lead Malaysian badminton, now that he has been appointed as the national director of coaching.
His first test is the ongoing Asian Games in Hangzhou but he knows it will be a tall order to deliver.
Rexy was previously in charge of the doubles, both seniors and juniors, but now the badminton supremo will take over the positions left vacant by Datuk Misbun Sidek (junior singles coaching director) and Wong Choong Hann (national singles coaching director) respectively.
Misbun was dismissed from his role with immediate effect after the junior shuttlers failed to win any medals at the Asian Junior Championships in Yogyakarta in July while Choong Hann resigned in June before joining Hong Kong’s national team as their men’s singles coach.
Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) secretary Datuk Kenny Goh believes Rexy can take the sport to greater heights.
“I believe this is the best decision because Rexy has the experience of being the coaching director of Indonesia and Thailand, and we all know that he is one of the legends in this sport,” said Kenny after the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing ceremony between New Vision Badminton Academy (NVBA) and Badminton Confederation of Africa (BCA) at the NVBA in Petaling Jaya yesterday.
“Since he is experienced and currently coaching in Malaysia, it is easier for us.
“Rexy will oversee all the departments – from juniors to seniors and singles to doubles – but we’re still searching for two junior coaches – one to replace Datuk Misbun and another as the assistant.
“The juniors are currently in Spokane (for the World Junior Championships), so I think we still have time to source for suitable and qualified coach.”
Meanwhile, the NVBA signed a four-year MoU with the BCA to cultivate talent, raise standards and promote the sport’s growth in Malaysia and Africa.
