KUALA LUMPUR: Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) secretary-general Datuk Kenny Goh feels that the Badminton World Federation (BWF) should review the model for hosting the Thomas and Uber Cup Finals.
He said an internal discussion is needed among the world body’s council members on the hosting rights for the men’s and women’s world team championships.
Asked whether BAM is interested to bid for the 2026 Thomas and Uber Cup Finals, he said the national badminton governing body had no intention to submit a bid at this moment, after the BWF extended the application deadline to host the Thomas and Uber Cup Finals until Feb 1.
“Before I comment on whether Malaysia should bid, I think BWF probably need to relook and review the model for hosting. I think it is a bit discouraging why until now still no body bid and BWF had to extend the deadline,” Kenny, who is also a BWF Council Member, told reporters.
The previous edition was held in Nonthaburi, Thailand in May 2022, while the next edition is scheduled from April 28 to May 5, 2024 in Chengdu, China.
The last time Malaysia hosted the Thomas and Uber Cup was back in 2010 in Kuala Lumpur.
Meanwhile, Kenny said the preparations for the 2024 season opening Malaysia Open, scheduled from Jan 9-14 at the Axiata Arena is going well.
“We will start our onsite preparations by next week. The ticket sales are encouraging, as of Friday, most of the semi-finals and finals tickets were sold,” he said.
On allowing foreign shuttlers to train together with the national players at the Akademi Badminton Malaysia (ABM) in Bukit Kiara as a warm up to the Malaysia Open, Kenny said he will discuss the matter with BAM’s coaching director Rexy Mainaky to avoid overcrowding at the national training centre. – Bernama