BAM to help 'sandwich generation' face challenges
Published on: Wednesday, November 21, 2018
Selangor: The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) already have plans to help young shuttlers face the challenges of making the transition to the senior squad, where they will be regarded as the 'sandwich generation'.Coaching and Training committee chairman Datuk Ng Chin Chai said the real challenge awaiting shuttlers, including those who showed exceptional performances at the junior level, would come at the senior level.He said that was because a player who had just been promoted to the senior squad would become the 'sandwich generation'.
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Those in this category are not ready to challenge experienced and talented shuttlers like Datuk Lee Chong Wei but at the same time are being pushed hard by other juniors."At the junior level, they only face players aged 17 or 18. But at the senior stage, there are players of different ages as well as their peers from other countries who were not serious about the game at junior level but go on to become very good later on, like those from England and Spain."A handful of these young shuttlers, if they are not prepared, will lose and become frustrated. So, what is important for them to be able to compete at the senior level is their mental preparation as well as their physical strength and stamina. They must be prepared to accept losses, work harder and develop step by step and not expect instant success."When our new coaching director Wong Choong Hann first came in, he explained about this 'sandwich generation' and his plans to tackle it," he told reporters at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) after welcoming home the national squad, who competed in the World Junior Badminton Championships in Markham, Canada.
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The youngsters did the country proud in Markham, with girls' singles shuttler Goh Jin Wei bagging her second world title after her 2015 success and Pearly Tan Koong Le-Toh Ee Wei emerging runners-up in the girls' doubles.Chin Chai, who is also the BAM secretary-general, confirmed that all the shuttlers from the world juniors, including the only professional player Aidil Sholeh Ali Sadikin, would be absorbed into the senior squad.
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"I am proud of their achievements because this is a good starting point for them as they join the national squad. Except for Jin Wei, Pearly Tan and Toh, the others will be under probation and we will assess their performances every three months."Every shuttler at the senior level, except those under probation, will be sent to at least 10 international tournaments," he said.He admitted that the women's junior team had, after two decades of top-class performances, reached the same level as the men's junior squad.National junior squad head coach Kwan Yoke Meng hoped that those moving up to the senior level would continue to work hard and produce excellent performances.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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