KUALA LUMPUR, May 7 — Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) has rejected claims that the national governing body lacks talented singles players.

The allegation was raised by several parties following the disappointing performance of BAM’s men’s singles players at the recent Thomas Cup.

BAM secretary-general Datuk Kenny Goh said the governing body actually has talented players in the individual events, but the squad has at times been unfortunate due to injuries.

“I do not agree when people say we (BAM) lack talent. Perhaps we have just been unfortunate in the singles events because we already have the talent, but then injuries happen.

“You all know how many players are injured, while some are still recovering and others have only just recovered. So I don’t think we lack talent; we have just been unlucky in that aspect,” he said when met yesterday.

Meanwhile, Kenny said that, to ensure BAM does not run short of new talent, the governing body’s talent scouts continuously monitor various national tournaments throughout the year.

He added that, besides monitoring national tournaments, BAM also conducts Talent Identification selections at least twice a year to ensure the country’s best players can be identified and absorbed into BAM’s development system. — Bernama