Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) coaching and training chairman Norza Zakaria assured that the frosty situation between world number one Lee Chong Wei and BAM technical director Morten Frost is under control and that the two legends should settle the differences between them.
Notably, Chong Wei said he was ready to quit BAM and hit out at the former top-ranked Danish shuttler, who is now working with the association, revealing that he was not happy with the way the latter dealt with his knee injury, which he suffered during a training session at the BAM training academy on Saturday. The three-time Olympic champion also added he had been having issues with Frost and that the Dane should not have enquired about his retirement to coach Hendrawan right after he was forced out of the upcoming All England Championships.
Chong Wei also added that he had complained about the slippery nature of the mat at the new court in the academy but that there was no response from either Frost or BAM general manager Lawrence Chew, which according to him has led to his injury.
Norza, who has called himself the "official mediator" between the two, revealed that they will support Chong Wei through his recovery period and also talk it out with Frost to ensure smooth running of the sport in the country. He also shed light on what might have resulted in the "misunderstanding" between the Malaysian shuttler and the Dane.
"I am confident that we have the situation under control. For us, this is more of a problem managing success following our good showing at the Olympics last year," Nozra said, as quoted by the Star.
"Chong Wei has his own targets while Morten has been given a key performance index (KPI) of grooming Malaysia to become the world's top three in badminton and to win gold at the 2020 Olympics. Since Morten's role is to groom players to eventually replace Chong Wei, he has been focusing more on the others than Chong Wei, which could have sparked the misunderstanding.
"I have been the unofficial mediator between the two in the past. For now we will let Chong Wei cool down first ... let him recover and we will provide him with whatever assistance he needs. As for Morten, we will have a talk with him. Maybe he is a bit strict and his way of thinking is different from us Asians."
Meanwhile, Malaysia Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin has said that the government will provide all the support to Chong Wei and that the shuttler's retirement decision should not be influenced by anyone else.
"I have said it since the Olympics. As long as he wants to play, we will support him, and Chong Wei is also part of the Podium Programme under the National Sports Institute," Jamaluddin said, as quoted by the Free Malaysia Today.
