It was bound to happen sooner or later as Misbun Ramdan Misbun, who was crowned as the national champion turned his back on the Badminton Association of Malaysia by submitting a resignation letter to the national body.
Within 24 hours two talented youngsters, Chan Kwong Beng being the first and Ramdan have walked out of the BAM bastion in Stadium Juara, casting serious doubts on the ability of the national body to hold on to players and thus throwing into limelight once again the issue of turning professional, where the players opt for private clubs instead of the national body.
Word has it that Ramdan will now go under the tutelage of his father Misbun Sidek and if one were to turn the clock back to two years ago, it was the refusal of BAM to let the son train under the father that led the latter walking out of the national set-up.
Interestingly BAM banned another shuttler Tan Chun Seang was banned for a 2-year period from any competitions in
Asia after he walked out of the national team to become an independent
player in July 2011.
The shuttler
was not allowed to compete in any competition in Asia by
BAM coaching and training committee.
Chun Seang had previously been banned after a similar
clash two years ago but this time, the sanctions were softened up,
allowing the young shuttler to travel and play in a European league and
European tournaments.
Now the big questionmark is does BAM have the guts to impose similiar sanctions on these two players who walked out of the national training camp?
The time has come for BAM to realise that their wall is crumbling and all the arrogance has a price to pay. The fact that the top shuttlers are shunning the Malaysian Open is a concern and it goes on to show that all's not well in the BAM.
