THE efforts to finalise the 2012 London Olympics project squad took a positive turn after the coaches submitted their list of players to coordinator Kenny Goh yesterday.
While the singles squad is anybody’s guess, national doubles coach Rexy Mainaky (right) shed more light on the new structure for the his players where he is planning to have both the elite and back-up teams to train together.
Rexy said that Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong and Zakry Latif-Fairuzizuan Tazari are the sure choices for the 2012 Olympics project squad while two other pairs — Razif Latif-Tan Wee Kiong and Hoon Thien How-Ong Soon Hock — have shown promise.
Besides them, Tan Bin Shen-Khoo Chung Chiat and Gan Teik Chai-Lin Woon Fui are the other pairs who have also been training with the current seniors.
Although the BA of Malaysia (BAM) has not made a decision on the men’s doubles, it is likely that the core of the current squad will be maintained while the rest will form the back-up squad.
“We have learnt a lot from the mistakes from the previous Olympics programme and there will be a different approach. The best option is to have both the elite and back-up players train together to intensity the competition,” said Rexy.
“Kien Keat-Boon Heong and Zakry-Fairuz have earned their place. Some new pairs have shown promise while the rest also have the chance to make it.
“If I find a back-up pair continuously producing results, they can be promoted to the 2012 project squad and non-performing seniors will be demoted.
“This practice will continue so as to instill strong competition among the players and keep everyone on their toes.”
Rexy is presently being assisted by Pang Cheh Chang, Chang Kim Wai, Rosman Razak and Jeremy Gan.
Cheh Chang is in charge of the women’s doubles while Jeremy will guide the mixed doubles.
The men’s singles squad is expected to be made up of Lee Chong Wei, Hafiz Hashim, Kuan Beng Hong, Arif Latif, Chong Wei Feng, Tan Chun Seang and Liew Daren.
The composition of the 2012 Olympics project squad will also depend on the budget allocation by the National Sports Council (NSC). This is the reason Kenny and the coaches were unable to reveal the names of the players who made the cut.
A meeting with the NSC is expected to be held as soon as possible and this will be followed by BAM’s coaching and training committee meeting for the approval of the final list.
