KUALA LUMPUR – The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) have denied claims that it rejected a request for discussions with the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Taliban-led Afghanistan.
The denial comes in response to remarks by Afghanistan NOC secretary-general Irshadulhaq Sadiqi, who told Scoop that his committee had sought a meeting with BAM during a visit to Malaysia in November. The visit was hosted by the Education Ministry (MoE).
According to Irshadulhaq, the meeting was intended to enable Afghanistan’s NOC to learn from BAM’s administrative practices and implement similar strategies to enhance badminton development in their country.
However, their efforts were reportedly unsuccessful, with the MoE allegedly citing BAM’s lack of interest as the reason for rejecting the request.
BAM secretary-general Datuk Kenny Goh, when contacted, said the association had not been informed of Afghanistan NOC’s interest and denied rejecting the proposed meeting.
“We were not told about their interest in having a discussion, and we did not reject their request or instruct anyone to do so on our behalf.
“If the MoE rejected their request, it had nothing to do with us. We did not issue any directives regarding this matter,” Kenny said.
While BAM did not specify whether it would consider engaging with Afghanistan’s NOC in the future, the association clarified that it only engages with NOCs recognised by the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM).
“As far as I know, the Afghanistan NOC is not recognised by the OCM and is also not fully recognised by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). I can’t comment on what might happen in the future,” Kenny added.
Irshadulhaq had earlier told Scoop that the BWF had begun recognising the Afghanistan Badminton Federation for its development efforts, with potential plans to sanction their tournaments in the coming years.
Afghanistan’s emerging shuttlers are now preparing to compete in the 6th Iran Junior International Series and the 33rd Iran Fajr International Challenge next year. — January 1, 2025