Different phases: National men’s singles coach Hendrawan has worked with different coaches (from left) Rexy Mainaky, Datuk Misbun Sidek and Wong Choong Hann over 15 years.
PETALING JAYA: National men’s singles coach Hendrawan has been serving Malaysian badminton for 15 years but is his time up?
Hendrawan’s contract in the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) is supposed to run until the end of the year but his position has come under scrutiny ever since men’s singles player Ng Tze Yong failed to qualify for the Paris Olympics.
Tze Yong was on track to make the cut for his first Olympics but a lower back injury which he suffered in the first round of the Malaysian Open in January put paid to his chances of qualifying.
The 24-year-old’s condition is worrying as he has not been registered for any tournaments in August and September.
He went for a medical assessment yesterday but a report on his condition has not been released.
It is learnt that Tze Yong, who has dropped from No. 16 to No. 22 in the rankings, is no longer under the charge of the 52-year-old Hendrawan.
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In May, there were further speculations that BAM had been looking to replace at least one of the singles coaches after advertising that they were seeking to hire a new men’s singles coach.Currently, besides Hendrawan, the other men’s singles coaches are Datuk Tey Seu Bock and James Chua
BAM head of administration Michelle Chai and secretary general Kenny Goh however, had said that Hendrawan, Seu Bock and James’ positions were secure until at least the end of the year and the advertisement was to explore all available options to strengthen the national team’s coaching structure.
Indonesian Hendrawan has been with BAM since 2009, and he is one of the coaches who played a pivotal role in guiding former world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei to two of his three Olympic silver medals.
He also guided the country’s current No. 1 men’s singles player Lee Zii Jia until the latter turned independent in 2022.
