Badminton

Jonassen, Mulyo, Rivas or Tat Meng: Who will BAM choose?

KUALA LUMPUR: Who will be the "Chosen One" to coach the national men's and women's singles badminton squads?

The mystery surrounding the identity will end with an announcement expected on Nov 25, as shared by the BA of Malaysia (BAM) acting president Datuk V. Subramaniam today.

Subramaniam disclosed that BAM is in the final stages of selecting the new coach, with five candidates reportedly under consideration for the role.

According to sources, the shortlist includes Denmark's head coach Kenneth Jonassen, Indonesia's Mulyo Handoyo and Spain's Fernando Rivas.

Also in contention is Wong Tat Meng, currently coach to world No. 7 Lee Zii Jia, whose contract expires at year-end.

"On Nov 25, we will make the announcement. Everything is nearly finalised, although there are still a few matters we need to settle," said Subramaniam.

"We're not deliberately delaying, but we don't want to rush. Every aspect must be considered to ensure the best choice for our national shuttlers."

Jonassen, who once coached Denmark's Viktor Axelsen, helped guide the world No. 1 to his first Olympic gold in Tokyo in 2021 and a world title in Glasgow in 2017.

Mulyo is celebrated for coaching former Olympic and world champion Taufik Hidayat.

Meanwhile, Rivas led Spain's Carolina Marin to the Rio Olympics gold in 2016, along with world titles in 2014 (Copenhagen), 2015 (Jakarta) and 2018 (Nanning).

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