BAM coaches absent but there’s no cause for concern

National singles coach Tey Seu Bock

PETALING JAYA: Don’t be alarmed by the absence of Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) singles coaches Hendrawan and Datuk Tey Seu Bock at the Thomas Cup Finals.

They are not leaving the BAM stable.

In the Group D tie against Denmark on Tuesday, women’s singles coach K. Yogendran had to step in to give pointers for the BAM’s second and third singles players Leong Jun Hao and Justin Hoh, and that had raised eyebrows.

Malaysia eventually went down 2-3 to Denmark to finish as the group runners-up.

BAM’s head of administration Michelle Chai said Seu Bock had to return home after arriving in Chengdu, China.

“We sent only one coach for every department. Seu Bock was sent instead of Hendrawan but Seu Bock had to come back after the first day there because his mother fell ill,” said Michelle.

“It was difficult to do the visa for Hendrawan at the last minute.”

Hendrawan is here in Kuala Lumpur, monitoring the progress of Ng Tze Yong.

The coaches in Chengdu are national coaching director Rexy Mainaky, Yogendran (women’s singles), Mohd Miftah (women’s doubles) and Tan Bin Shen (men’s doubles).

“For now, the other coaches are helping out and Rexy is there too,” she said.

Most of the coaches’ contracts will end after the Olympic Games in Paris and the BAM are expected to review their services.