Hendrawan is not leaving, says Michelle

PETALING JAYA: National men’s singles coach Hendrawan is not leaving the stable, according to Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) head of administration Michelle Chai.

Hendrawan’s absence during the Thomas Cup in Chengdu from April 27-May 5 and the fact the Ng Tze Yong had not qualified for the Paris Olympics would have reignited the speculation of the former world champion leaving the national fold again.

Michelle clarified that Hendrawan was in Kuala Lumpur monitoring Tze Yong’s rehabilitation progress.

The news surfaced towards the end of last year but Hendrawan came out and reassured his commitment to help Tze Yong to qualify for the 2024 Paris.

However, a back surgery has left Tze Yong out in the cold and ended the 24-year-old players chances of qualifying for the Olympics. World No. 10 Lee Zii Jia will be the only Malaysian men’s singles player to feature in Paris.

Michelle brushed off any speculations that Hendrawan would quit his job and possibly return to coach in Indonesia.

“Hendrawan, like several other coaches, has a contract until the end of the year and he will remain to fulfil his responsibility as the men’s singles coach,” said Michelle.

“Although Tze Yong didn’t qualify, it will not change Hendrawan’s role as the singles coach and he will continue with the set-up.

“He has not spoken to us about leaving and has continued working with the singles squad.”

National coaching director Rexy Mainaky has already called for a review of the current singles training programme and this is where Hendrawan may have to take the lead and be ready to inject changes to push the BAM players to the next level.

Overdependence on world No. 10 Lee Zii Jia had hampered Malaysia’s titles chances at the Thomas Cup where they lost 1-3 to eventual winners China in the semi-finals.

This would possibly add pressure on Hendrawan to come up with an improved programme to help Leong Jun Hao and Justin Hoh continue their progress and also the successful return of Tze Yong from the back surgery.

There will be more clarity on Hendrawan’s presence after the 2024 Paris Games but for the moment, the Indonesian is here to stay.