PETALING JAYA: All five professional players invited by the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) to strengthen the Thomas and Uber Cup squads have agreed to join the national team with the terms set by the governing body.
BAM secretary Datuk Kenny Goh said women’s singles player Goh Jin Wei, who had earlier requested a week to decide, has since responded.
Prior to that, men’s singles players Aidil Sholeh Ali Sadikin and Lee Zii Jia, as well as men’s doubles pair Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani, had already given their consent.
Although some details are still being finalised, all of them have agreed to wear the national team jersey, which carries a different sports brand from their personal sponsors, during the Thomas and Uber Cups Finals from April 24-May 3 in Horsens, Denmark.
Zii Jia and Sze Fei-Izzuddin are sponsored by Victor, while Jin Wei is currently with Li-Ning and Aidil is backed by Apacs.
“There is no issue. From the start, when it comes to attire, if they represent the country in tournaments like this, they must wear the national team jersey.
“As for training at the Academy Badminton Malaysia, everything has been arranged, so there is no problem,” said Kenny.
The issue of differing sportswear brands has surfaced in the past whenever BAM opened their doors to professional players to train at the Academy Badminton Malaysia in Bukit Kiara, including during preparations for the 2023 World Championships in Copenhagen and the 2024 Thomas and Uber Cup Finals in Chengdu.
At the time, BAM had to provide plain training shirts without sponsor logos to all players, including the invited professionals, to avoid any issues.
Apart from the attire issue, BAM are also finalising the training arrangements for the professional players.
“We are currently in the process of working out whether they want centralised training and several other matters that need to be sorted out.
“We are still discussing whether they will come in twice a week or follow a different arrangement.” he added.
