Kim Hock on why BAM picked Kay Bin for ABC
News 8:42 AM
PETALING JAYA: Singles shuttler Yeoh Kay Bin's hope of making it to the Thomas Cup Finals as the fourth singles players of the team will depend very much on his performance in the Asian Championships (ABC), which will be held in Johor Baru from April 15-20.
National chief coach Yap Kim Hock said yesterday that it was for this reason that Kay Bin was among the six men's singles shuttlers selected for the championships.
The BAM's coaching and training committee will finalise the squad for the Finals, which will be held in Jakarta from May 11-18, on the final day of the championships.
A country can have a mximum entry of six men's singles players for the ABC, which is the last tournament that offers Olympic qualifying points. The other Malaysians in the fray are Lee Chong Wei, Wong Choong Hann, Mohd Hafiz Hashim, Tan Chun Seang and Mohd Arif Abdul Latif with KLRC Bhd's Lee Tsuen Seng placed on the reserve list.
Kim Hock said that every player named for the ABC had a target to achieve. And he stressed that the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) gave priority to their players in selection for international tournaments.
Kim Hock was reacting to KLRC Bhd's Sairul Amar Ayob claims that the national body had been unfair in their selection of players for the ABC.
The world number 27 felt that he deserved a place because he was ranked three rungs higher than Kay Bin and had also achieved better results in international tournaments.
In Super Series tournaments thus far this year, Sairul, who is hoping to get selected for the Thomas Cup Finals, beat World Championships runner-up Sony Dwi Kuncoro of Indonesia and Choong Hann en route to reaching the quarter-finals of the Swiss Open in March.
However, Kim Hock justified the selection of Kay Bin for the ABC. “Due to poor form, we did not send him to the All-England and Swiss Open. We are giving him a last chance to impress. This is our choice,’’ he said.
“We will pick the best players for the Thomas Cup Finals and the team will be named in Johor Baru on April 20.”
Chong Wei, Choong Hann and Hafiz are expected to make the team but it will be a tough decision for a BAM to make on their fourth ranked player.
Besides Kay Bin and Sairul, the others who could be considered for selection are Tsuen Seng and Nusa Mahsuri's Mohd Roslin Hashim.
Kim Hock added that selecting Chun Seang and Arif for the ABC was to give the youngsters exposure while the tournament was important for the world number 16 Choong Hann to allow him to consolidate his position for a place in the Beijing Olympics.
“Hafiz is coming out of injury and has not had any outstanding achievements but he is still young and we are counting on him. His inclusion for the ABC should not be questioned,” he said.
On the BAM's new selection criteria and guidelines for international tournaments, Kim Hock said: “We are still in the final stages of drafting them.
“Probably, there will not be any questions over selection in the near future when the guidelines are ready.”
Posted by Lucas Liau
on 8:42 AM.
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