KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 26 (Bernama) — Chinese players who snubbed the just concluded Super Series Masters Finals in Kota Kinabalu have also decided to skip the US$200,000 (RM680,000) Malaysia Open, scheduled from Jan 6-11 at the Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil.
Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) general manager Kenny Goh said the Badminton Association of China had informed BAM that their players would not compete in the 2009 season opening Super Series event.
“China informed us that their players were undergoing a three-month training stint at an army camp,” he told reporters here today.
Goh said he was however not informed of details pertaining to the training like when they had started or when the training would be over.
“I have also received information that apart from the Malaysian Open, the Chinese players would also skip the Korean Open which is the second Super Series event, scheduled from Jan 13-18, just two days after the tournament here,” he said.
He added that the Malaysian players who swept three titles – men’s singles, men’s doubles and women’s doubles – at the US$500,000 (RM1.8 million) Super Series Masters Finals which ended last week, are currently preparing for the two tournaments.
The absence of Chinese players would not in any way hamper the quality of the Malaysian Open, in fact it would open the door for other players to perform well, he said.
Meanwhile, the BAM would also host the National Juniors Badminton Team championships at the Juara Stadium in Bukit Kiara starting tomorrow, with the cooperation of 100 Plus.
The championships would involve 14 state teams that would be divided into four groups.
The championships would serve as a platform to identify young players for the back up squad.
