Kuala Lumpur: The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) planned to stage an internal competition as it started to ramp up preparation for the Thomas and Uber Cup Finals.
The BAM coaching director Wong Choong Hann was expecting the competition would push the Malaysian shuttlers to improve.
“It’s almost half a year since our shuttlers played their last tournament at All-England in March,” said Wong.
“We are hoping this internal competition would bring back the competitiveness of all shuttlers, and I am sure some of them would give their best as only the best players would be selected for the Thomas and Uber Cup Finals,” explained Wong.
However, Wong revealed that only BAM shuttlers and the eight independent shuttlers who recently invited to practice with the Malaysia national team were eligible for the tournament.
“At the moment, we only allowed independent players who are training with us to play at this internal tournament,” added Wong.
Meanwhile, the president of BAM, Mohamad Norza Zakaria said to Malaysian media on Tuesday that the 2020 Malaysia Open will only be held if it received enough funding from Badminton World Federation (BWF).
“It’s almost certain that the Malaysia Open will not be held due to the high cost of running the tournament unless BWF willing to become the main tournament sponsor,” said Zakaria.
It would cost BAM more than RM4 million for hosting the tournament, while most of the world’s top shuttlers would probably skip the tournament due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Zakaria also confirmed that BAM would hold an internal tournament in mid-August.
“Format for the internal competition has yet to be finalized, the main purpose is to give all senior, back-up, and eight professional players a feeling of competing in a real tournament,” said Zakaria.
