PETALING JAYA: Former All-England champion Mohd Hafiz Hashim is charting a new path in his coaching career after being appointed as the high performance coach for the Saudi Arabia's national badminton team.
Hafiz described the opportunity as a fresh challenge, as he has been entrusted with developing a relatively new team still finding their footing in the sport.
After his two-year stint with the Suchitra Badminton Academy in Hyderabad ended in May, Hafiz revealed that he had received several coaching offers, including from clubs in India keen to secure his services.
He was also previously linked with the vacant post of Malaysia’s women’s singles coach, but ultimately decided to accept the offer from the Saudi Badminton Federation.
Badminton is still a developing sport in the Middle Eastern nation, with the national team only formed in 2014.
In fact, Saudi Arabia only made their debut at the Asian Men’s Team Championship last year when the tournament was held in Setia Alam, Selangor.
"I was supposed to begin on Aug 1, but due to visa issues, I’ll be starting a little later. I’m flying there this Wednesday," said Hafiz when contacted.
"Initially, the association wanted my services until the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, but since the contract is offered through the government, it will be renewed on a yearly basis.
"They’ve asked me to prepare a comprehensive plan to help raise the level of badminton in Saudi Arabia. It will take time to produce results, and they are realistic about that.
"But the truth is, they do have talented players who need to be nurtured. They’re only just beginning to build their elite programme, so it wouldn’t be fair to compare them with countries like Malaysia that have had structured systems for decades."
Given Hafiz’s credentials, the Saudi Badminton Federation are hoping he can groom players to qualify for the Olympics for the first time at the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
But before turning his sights on Los Angeles, Hafiz will first focus on grooming promising players to qualify for the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya next September.
"Apart from identifying potential tournaments, my immediate task is to work on improving the players’ rankings so they can earn the chance to compete in higher-level competitions," he said.
"It’s no small challenge, but I welcome it. Any improvement we achieve will be something to be proud of, especially since Saudi Arabia are still a minority in the badminton scene.
“We need to train not just their physical abilities but also their mental strength – and I have to build everything from scratch," added Hafiz.
