Rexy apologises for missing out on gold, will start early for LA28

Good leader: Badminton coach Rexy Mainaky speaking to the media after arriving at KLIA. —AZHAR MAHFOF/The Star

PETALING JAYA: National coaching director Rexy Mainaky apologises for falling short of the badminton team's gold medal target, but the Indonesian doesn’t intend on leaving Malaysia anytime soon.

After arriving at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport Terminal 1 (KLIA) on Wednesday from the Paris Olympics, Rexy said the thought of leaving the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) has not crossed his mind.

"I don’t have plans to go anywhere else, I still have responsibilities to BAM and I have a home here too.

"If my contract with BAM is up and they want to extend it, then I will stay," said Rexy.

The Malaysian badminton squad brought home two bronze medals from Paris courtesy of men’s singles shuttler Lee Zii Jia and doubles duo Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, and Rexy said the focus is already on the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

He admitted that he was disappointed the team did not reach their golden target, but had no complaints on the shuttlers’ performance in Paris.

"As a coach, I apologise that we did not reach the target, but I am happy with how our athletes performed.

"We have to start from now to prepare for the next Olympics, not wait for the year before then begin preparations.

"The things that we did right in Paris, we will continue, and improve on aspects that were lacking," he said.