WORLDS – Gan and Tan not happy

Independent players Gan Teik Chai and Tan Bin Shen have been voicing their disappointment in their being passed over for the world meet in London, in August. The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) – chose another pair to send together with Koo/Tan to represent Malaysia.  BAM is entitled to make such choices as the nation’s governing body but this one finds bitterness in the hearts of Teik Chai and Bin Shen. But this week-end, BAM announced that Hoon Thien How – Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif, World’s 32 pair would be selected on merit and potential over Gan and Tan, despite being only Malaysia’s 6th-ranked pair as of the Worlds cutoff date of April 28th.

“I could accept it if there were three BAM pairs in the top 24 and the association decided to make use of its right to name the pairs. But BAM sacrificed our place in order to give it to a lower ranked pair and, even worse, not their second ranked combination (Fairuzizuan Tazari-Ong Soon Hock) but their third combination,” said Gan to the New Straits Times.

“If BAM wanted two or even three pairs for the World Championships, they should have set a programme for the players and given them sufficient tournaments to qualify. Don’t take someone else’s place just like that.”

Meanwhile, Wong Choong Hann, also an independent player, has been selected to represent Malaysia in men’s singles, together with Datuk Lee Chong Wei.