PETALING JAYA: It is still early days, but Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) president Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz believes there are encouraging signs from the reshuffling of the national men’s doubles pairs.
Zafrul congratulated Tee Kai Wun and Yap Roy King after the new pairing claimed their maiden title at the Korean Masters in Asan on Sunday, beating fellow Malaysians Man Wei Chong-Soh Wooi Yik in the final.
Zafrul acknowledged that the reshuffle had raised many questions, particularly in the early stages of the plan.
However, he said being brave and taking risks is all part of competing at the highest level.
"I know that when the coaching team decided to reshuffle several of the national men’s doubles pairs, many people had questions," said Zafrul in a social media post after the tournament ended.
"Some were also not convinced, especially when the early results were not particularly encouraging.
"But in high performance sports, sometimes we need to be brave enough to make changes if we want to find stronger partnerships."
At the Taiwan Open earlier this month, scratch pair Aaron Chia-Aaron Tai also had a breakthrough run by reaching the final and came in second to Indonesia’s Leo Carnando-Daniel Marthin.
Zafrul remained grounded, insisting that there is still a long way to go.
"Winning one tournament does not mean the strategy has been completely proven. The journey is still a long one.
"But when two of our newly formed pairs have managed to reach the final, and one of them has already won a title in such a short period of time, at the very least, we are seeing some very positive signs.
"Congratulations to Kai Wun, Roy King, Wei Chong, Wooi Yik, and the entire coaching team.
"There are times when we need to be brave enough to try something new. What matters is that every decision brings us closer to one goal; restoring Malaysian badminton to the top of the world," he said.
