KUALA LUMPUR: National singles coach Rashid Sidek dropped a huge bombshell on Thursday by quitting the national team citing that he could no longer work under the new management.
On Thursday, Rashid handed his resignation letter to Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) general manager Kenny Goh to end his 10-year service with the national team.
Rashid said he had had enough as he could not work under BAM’s new president Tengku Tan Sri Mahaleel Tengku Ariff and the Talent Management Group director Tan Aik Mong.
Just a few days ago, he was demoted as the singles chief coach and placed under the charge of elder brother Razif in Team A following a new coaching structural change by Aik Mong.
“I am not satisfied with the new management. I am hurt now as they have not treated local coaches well,” he said.
“I cannot adjust to the changes. I have no peace of mind. It is better that I leave. I am done with BAM,” added the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games bronze medallist and recipient of last year’s National Sports Council’s (NSC) Coach of the Year award.
He is the second from the Sidek family to walk out of the BAM’S coaching setup. His elder brother Misbun left in 2010 as he could not tolerate interference from the management.
His decision will be a big blow to BAM as he had played a huge role – especially in the success of one of his players, world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei.
