Dejection, pride and disappointment must have led Misbun Sidek to end his decade-long service as a national coach.
The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) deputy president, Tengku Kamil Ismail Tengku Idris Shah, confirmed after the exco meeting yesterday that Misbun had rejected a new contract with them to train the back-up shuttlers even though it offered good salary and perks.
Misbun: Did not state any reason for turning down the offer.
Kamil, who chaired the meeting in the absence of the president, Datuk Seri Nadzmi Mohd Salleh, said that Misbun did not state any reason for turning down the offer.
The decision of the 51-year-old Misbun marked an end to a colourful and controversial career as a national coach.
He now has an option to return to the Nusa Mahsuri professional club to train youngsters but close sources say that Misbun has had enough of badminton.
“The exco respected his decision and unanimously accepted it,” said Kamil.
“And we take this opportunity to appreciate him for his services and contributions to the many successes in Malaysian badminton over the years with the BAM.”
Misbun had remained silent since retracting his decision to quit the national team last month.
He must have felt very hurt when his prized player, Lee Chong Wei, announced that it was all right not to be under his charge.
His about-turn came as a shock because immediately after Misbun tendered his resignation as national coach last Dec 31, Chong Wei said that he would follow his coach.
It is learnt that Chong Wei had grown tired waiting for Misbun to make his return for more than three months and made a public declaration that he was comfortable under the guidance of Teh Seu Bock and Rashid Sidek and would like the arrangement to stay.
And BAM, who placed great priority on what their Olympic Games gold medal prospect wanted, offered Misbun to coach some of the back-up players, including his son Ramdan.
When asked whether Ramdan had also quit the team to join his father, Kamil said: “No.”
One of the exco member, Datuk Sayed Abu Bakar Abdullah, a good friend of Misbun, was disappointed that the latter had turned down the challenge to groom new stars for the country.
“Misbun should have accepted this offer. This was an opportunity for him to develop new talent and be a prominent coach in the national team,” said Sayed, who is also the president of the Terengganu Badminton Association.
“At this moment, any coach can train Chong Wei. He has reached a level that he does not need much help from a coach.
In fact, in the absence of Misbun, Chong Wei remained focused to win the Super Series Masters Finals, Malaysia Open and All-England (beating Lin Dan of China in the final).
“I think, Misbun has taken too long to think over all these and was distracted along the way. Misbun has the calibre and he should have stayed on with the BAM. It is a waste to see him leave like this.”
For the record, when Misbun was in charge, Chong Wei won the 2010 All-England title and the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games silver medal.
Three other players – Rashid Sidek, Mohd Hafiz Hashim and Mohd Roslin Hashim – also enjoyed high points in their careers when they were under Misbun’s guidance.
Courtesy of The Star
