KUALA LUMPUR – How many accreditation cards have Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) officials received for the Paris Olympics? And how many accreditation cards has the International Olympic Committee granted to Malaysia overall?
This issue has raised eyebrows among sports fans recently, sparking concerns about the possibility of sports officials getting a free pass while athletes strive at the world’s largest sporting event.
Malaysia’s women’s professional singles player, Goh Jin Wei, has accepted that her request to bring her coach, Nova Armada, to Paris cannot be fulfilled.
According to reliable sources, Malaysia, currently sending approximately 25 athletes to the Games, are expected to receive only about 12 accreditation cards for officials.
While the distribution of accreditation cards falls under the authority of the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM), Malaysia’s badminton squad, the sport with the highest representation in Paris, has secured approximately five accreditation cards.
These will be allocated to Rexy Mainaky (national coaching director), Tan Bin Shen (men’s doubles coach), Hoon Thien How (women’s doubles coach), Nova Widianto (mixed doubles coach) and Wong Tat Meng, coach of professional men’s singles player Lee Zii Jia.
However, BAM is awaiting confirmation from the OCM regarding the official number of accreditation cards allocated to the badminton body.
Earlier, chef de mission Datuk Hamidin Amin promised to secure two additional accreditation cards for Zii Jia, who plans to bring along his sparring partner and physiotherapist.
An official within the national badminton body, who spoke anonymously, said BAM would meet OCM officials tomorrow to determine the exact number of accreditations allocated to it.
“Even though the badminton team makes up a large portion of Malaysia’s contingent, it does not guarantee they will receive a proportionate number of accreditation cards,” said the official.
“Currently, BAM has noted a limited allocation, so only coaches directly involved will accompany athletes to Paris.
“BAM has also assisted Zii Jia. Any further allocations from OCM will be subject to further discussion.”
Discussions will also cover whether the national badminton squad’s sparring partners will receive P accreditation.
However, at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, badminton was not categorised for P accreditation eligibility, and any changes for Paris will likely result in a limited allocation.
According to the initial plan, all sparring partners will return to Malaysia after a 10-day central training camp in Aire-sur-la-Lys, France, from July 10 to 20.
For the record, BAM has enlisted 12 players as sparring partners to assist men’s doubles pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, women’s doubles duo Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah and mixed doubles shuttlers Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei during the central training camp in France next week. – July 2, 2024