KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 3 — The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) is satisfied with the strict Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) to be implemented by the Badminton Association of Thailand (BAT) at two World Super Tour 1000 tournaments in Bangkok, Thailand this month.
BAM president Tan Sri Mohamad Norza Zakaria said he had received assurances from BAT President Khunying Patama Leeswadtrakul who stressed that the organisers would not compromise on any SOP violations during the two tournaments.
The two tournaments were the Thai Open Yonex from Jan 12-17 and the Thai Open Toyota from Jan 19-24 and both tournaments offered US$1 million in cash (RM4.022 million) prizes.
He said the implementation of strict SOPs was important as BAT would also host the final round of the BWF World Tour Finals scheduled to take place from Jan 27-31, he told Bernama recently.
Meanwhile, Mohamad Norza, who is also the President of the Olympic Council Of Malaysia, was confident that the two tournaments would be the best platforms for the national players to regain their rhythm after more than nine months of not participating in any international tournaments following the COVID-19 pandemic.
The All England Open Badminton Championship in Birmingham in March was the last international tournament participated by the national squad before the government imposed a ban on flying abroad due to the pandemic.
The country’s top men’s singles, Lee Zii Jia would lead the Malaysian challenge in both tournaments along with several national professional players including the 2016 Rio Olympic Games silver medallists, Chan Peng Soon and Goh Liu Ying.
The national squad is scheduled to leave for Bangkok tomorrow. — Bernama
