PETALING JAYA, Aug 11 — The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) plans to restructure its coaching line-up after the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games following several changes to the governing body’s coaching structure.

BAM Performance Committee chairman Datuk Seri Lee Chong Wei said the plan was still at the discussion stage and any proposal needed to be refined with his committee, the coaching staff and the BAM Council.

“Give me some time because I want to restructure the coaching team, but perhaps after the Asian Games as we need to discuss it with the Council, Committee, Rexy (Rexy Mainaky) and Kenneth (Kenneth Jonassen).

“We also have junior players aged 13 and 15 who will join the national squad next year, so we want to find suitable coaches to join BAM,” the legend told reporters after the unveiling of the Lee Chong Wei Cup (LCWC) 2026 badminton tournament trophy here today.

The Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games are scheduled to take place from Sept 19 to Oct 4.

Chong Wei said the restructuring would also take into account the vacancy left by former national mixed doubles head coach Nova Widianto, who ended his service with BAM on July 31 after joining the association in 2023.

He said BAM was also evaluating the roles of its existing coaching staff, as well as the arrival of former national coach Teo Kok Siang, who is scheduled to report for duty on Sept 1.

“Yesterday, we also had a meeting with all the coaches and one of the matters emphasised was player discipline because the coaches need to work more closely in monitoring and resolving players’ problems,” he said.

Meanwhile, Chong Wei said any changes would not be based solely on players’ performance on court, but would also involve efforts to streamline the coaching system and improve discipline in the national squad.

“This is not something that can be done in one or two days, one or two months, but we need to do it little by little to restore discipline and the best possible situation for BAM. For me, coaches are very important because I cannot manage everything alone and they need to work together with me to help the players,” he said.

According to Chong Wei, the BAM Performance Committee is scheduled to meet this Friday to discuss the coaching structure before any proposal is taken to the next level for consideration. — Bernama