BAM should give chance to young shuttlers for Thomas Cup, says veteran shuttler Wong Choong Hann
Malaysia’s experienced shuttler, Wong Choong Hann, suggests Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) to give chance to young players in the 2012 Thomas Cup Finals.
Choong Hann, who is currently World Number 43, has been playing for Malaysia for more than 15 years. He represented his country at Thomas Cup on seven occasions and contributed in the glory of Malaysia, and now wants the back-up player to take over the charge.
The Malaysian veteran is still playing for his country as an independent shuttler and has made it to the main round of Malaysia Open Super Series, which is in progress at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He won all of his matches in the qualifying round and proved that he has still some badminton left in him.
However, now he wants BAM to give chance to young players in the Thomas Cup which will help them to gain experience and confidence to deliver better performance in all major international tournaments.
Choong Hann also suggested BAM to select Men’s Singles shuttlers, Mohd Arif Abdul Latif and Daren Liew, in the national squad of Thomas Cup.
The Malaysian also said that he does not want to become a part of the team for the prestigious team tournament as the chance should be given to back-up players.
He said, “I don’t want to be considered for the Thomas Cup because my current playing level is actually on par with the national back-up players.”
He further added, “It will be beneficial if the youngsters are given the chance to compete in an important team event because they need the exposure to step up and learn the responsibility of being a national player. They can only get their chance to shine if veterans like me step aside.”
The Malaysian veteran has won his two qualifying round matches against Thailand’s Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk and his compatriot Mohd Arif Abdul Latif.
These victories prove that he is still fit and can deliver good performance when it comes to play against the second stringers.
In the Men’s Singles main round, Choong Hann is set to play against the higher ranked Pablo Abian of Spain who is currently World Number 22 in the Men’s Singles world standings.
Tags: