BAM OPEN TO RTG PANEL'S PROPOSAL ON JOINT TRAINING SESSION

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 18 (Bernama) -- The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) are open to the proposal by the Road to Gold (RTG) Committee for the national shuttlers to train together with their professional counterparts.

BAM secretary-general Datuk Kenny Goh said the proposal had been brought before the association previously, but admitted that it still requires further scrutiny.

"We need to discuss with the coaches here and also perhaps with Datuk Stuart Ramalingam (the RTG coordinator) to see in detail what is meant by joint training,” he said when met at Akademi Badminton Malaysia in Bukit Kiara here today.

Yesterday, Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh said that the RTG Committee had proposed that players under the auspices of the BAM train together with professional shuttlers starting from early next year.

Hannah said the proposal aims to create more competition between BAM shuttlers and the professionals listed under the RTG programme.

Kenny said the proposal by the RTG Committee is not a new thing, as both the BAM and professional shuttlers have trained together during the COVID-19 pandemic.

He, however, acknowledged that the proposal could prove beneficial for the sport in the country.

Based on the latest RTG list, the national shuttlers training under the BAM umbrella are Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik and Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun (men's doubles), Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah (women's doubles) and Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei (mixed doubles).

Among the professional shuttlers are Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani (men's doubles) and Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie.

-- BERNAMA