KUALA LUMPUR, December 29 — The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) sees the presence of Morten Frost Hansen as giving a new lease of life to Malaysian badminton teetering on collapse.
The positive impact could especially be seen in the emergence and improved performance of women’s singles players such as Goh Jin Wei, doubles players Amelia Alicia Anscelly/Soong Fei Choo and the mixed doubles pair of Chan Peng Soon/Goh Liu Ying.
BAM deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Norza Zakaria said he was satisfied and had confidence in Frost as BAM technical director, especially for the five-year plan to the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2020.
Frost, who was BAM director of training from 1997-2000, took up his new post on March 1 this year and is on contract with the National Sports Council until December 31, 2020.
“So far, the BAM is satisfied with Frost’s achievement,” Mohamad Norza said when contacted by Bernama today. “Under the five-year plan, we want Malaysia to be in the top three in world badminton.
“BAM sees Frost’s presence as producing results, where Goh Jin Wei, Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin and Datuk Lee Chong Wei’s performances have shot up. The national women’s squad and the mixed doubles have also improved.”
Mohamad Norza said BAM, however, had to accept the reality that the overall performance of the men’s singles and doubles players had not reached the desired level yet.
He said Frost’s presence did not mean that the national badminton squad had to solely depend on him, because BAM had also brought in Kwan Yoke Meng as the Bukit Jalil Sports School (SSBJ) Project director, Cheah Soon Kit as the national doubles coach, and Indra Wijaya as singles coach.
“BAM together with Frost have also widened the search for new talents by boosting the current development plan, particularly at the state level, as well as the programme at SSBJ in order to consistently produce world-class players,” Mohamad Norza said.
Singles hopeful Iskandar Zulkarnain said the changes Frost has brought to his game have had a positive impact on his play throughout 2015.
He said initially he felt some pressure over certain matters pertaining to the management of players but the presence of the former Danish ace gradually brought changes that he welcomed.
Iskandar, who is placed under Indonesian coach Hendrawan, said with the changes, he need no longer think about management matters but could fully focus on training and the competitions.
“I personally feel there has been gradual improvement,” he said. “Everything has been happening in a more organised manner.”
Iskandar, who had been seen to be in a rut, bounced back, emerging as champion in a number of tournaments, among them the Singapore Open, Poland Open, Switzerland Open and the National Grand Prix Final in Kuala Lumpur recently.
The 24-year-old said with his best performance this year, he hoped to shoulder the national challenge of competing in the next Thomas Cup if given the opportunity to represent the country. — Bernama
