PETALING JAYA: Tan Sri Norza Zakaria officially stepped down as the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) president and handed the reigns to deputy president Datuk V. Subramaniam on Saturday (Aug 24).
Norza, who had pledged at the end of last year that he would step down after the Paris Olympics, kept his promise and confirmed that Subramaniam will become the acting president after the BAM council meeting
Subramaniam will hold the acting role until their next annual general meeting (AGM) and elections which are likely to be held in May, 2025.
“When I assumed leadership in 2017, I prioritized strengthening BAM’s finances and governance. BAM became one of the first national sports association to offer EPF and Socso benefits to athletes, six years ahead of the standard,” said Norza.
“This would be my last press conference as BAM president and I would leave it to Subramaniam. His team will continue the efforts without any interference from me.”
Meanwhile, BAM also decided to give an increased incentive for men’s doubles pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik for winning the bronze.
They would receive RM125,000 each for the their efforts at the Paris Olympics.
Previously, Aaron-Wooi Yik received RM120,000 to be shared by them when they won their first bronze at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
BAM also gave the blessing to men’s doubles pair Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani to leave the association to become independent players.
They will start their career as an independent pair from Sept 1.
