KUALA LUMPUR – As the Akademi Badminton Malaysia offers fantastic facilities, it is a norm for some international players to make it their training base ahead of major tournaments.
For instance, men’s singles player Anders Antonsen from Denmark based himself at the national training centre before flying off to China for the BWF World Tour Finals recently.
However, for the upcoming Malaysia Open, Badminton Association of Malaysia general secretary Datuk Kenny Goh said a screening of applications from foreign players would be done to ensure that congestion is avoided.
Kenny confirmed he had received applications from international players to train at ABM before the Super 1000 tournament, scheduled to start on January 9 at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil.
“I will discuss this with the coaching director (Rexy Mainaky), and we will screen the applications to avoid congestion at ABM.
“When top players train here we want there to be a win-win situation for all parties, so we will see the suitability of the players that we allow to train here,” said Kenny.
Meanwhile, Kenny said preparations leading up to the Malaysia Open are going as planned, and that ticket sales have been encouraging with the semi-finals and final being almost sold out.
However, Kenny said fans should get their tickets fast before they are completely sold out.
“The Axiata Arena will be set up on January 2.
“We are ready to host another successful championship,” he said. – December 30, 2023