Malaysian badminton coach asked to reconsider resignation

The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) has urged national coach Misbun Sidek to reconsider his shock resignation for the sake of the country's Olympic prospects.

BAM wants Misbun to stay on at least until next year's London Olympic Games but ruled out tweaking the new coaching and training structure which prompted him to quit on December 31. "We are requesting Misbun to re-consider his decision," BAM president Nadzmi Mohd Salleh was quoted as saying by the Star newspaper on Thursday. "We are all of the opinion that the London Olympic Games is very important to us. (World number one Lee) Chong Wei needs his coach and we do not want anything to disrupt our planning. "Our main interest is to win glory at the Olympics. And I urge Misbun, Chong Wei and all BAM officials to put national interests first." Misbun resigned after the BAM coaching and training committee decided he could no longer continue tutoring his son Ramdan and other junior players. "We will not change the training and coaching structure. It will stand," Nadzmi said. "We want to do things for the betterment of the sport and we know that Misbun wants the same. We have a common goal."