KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 26 – In another U-turn the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) was at the losing end – when professionalism won the battle and the national badminton body was forced to lift a two-year ban on national No 1 Lee Zii Jia with immediate effect.
It was a double victory for professionalism when BAM lifted a similar ban on two-time junior world champion Goh Jin Wei with immediate effect.
The turn of events came about after the two players met Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob at Perdana Putra.
Also at the meeting on Thursday were BAM president Tan Sri Norza Zakaria and his two deputies Datuk Seri Jahaberdeen Yunoos and Datuk V. Subramaniam.
At the same meeting was BAM patron Datin Seri Muhaini Zainal Abidin, who is the wife of the Prime Minister.
With the ban lifted, both, Zii Jia and Jin Wei will be able to compete in international tournaments.
BAM had earlier said with the ban, the two players will not be sanctioned by the BAM which effectively closed the door on their badminton career.
Both players had filed an appeal on the ban. Zii Jia was the first to send in his appeal before Jin Wei followed suit.
The ban, described as “cruel” in the badminton world, saw the BAM under fire, international and the backlash gained momentum by the day. The ban is described as “extremely harsh” as badminton is their livelihood.
Putting that aside, professionalism took an upward swing for the players but for BAM it is time to take stock of the politics in the association that has rocked the game in the country.
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