PETALING JAYA: Datuk V. Subramaniam has claimed that the Putrajaya Badminton Association (PJBA) did not appeal to the Selangor Badminton Association (SBA) to allow their players to compete in the Junior Elite Tour which started yesterday in Johor.
Subramaniam, who is SBA president and the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) deputy president, was commenting on the issue of the 16 players who were initially denied spots in the tournament as they were schooling in Selangor but representing Putrajaya.
In a BAM council meeting on Oct 18, it was decided that junior players must represent the states that they are schooling in during competitions in accordance with the Malaysian School Sports Council (MSSM) ruling.
If any state association want players who are not representing the state where they are schooling in to compete, then they need to get official release letters earlier from the players’ original state associations.
Subramaniam said that SBA did not receive any appeal from PJBA to allow the players schooling in Selangor to represent Putrajaya.
“We did not receive any appeal letters from the association,” said Subramaniam.
“When the BAM council have made a ruling, everyone needs to respect it.
“If Putrajaya had appealed to us, we would probably have allowed it this year but maybe make a change next year. We would have been able to come to an understanding.”
BAM president Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz (pic) had stepped in to allow the 16 players to compete, taking into account the players’ welfare but said that the decision was one-off and a special exemption only for this tournament.
