More badminton technical officials needed — SSC chief

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The coaching course participants posing with Ong (seated, second right) and (from right) Muhtasham, Hambali, SBA secretary Abdul Hadi Abdul Kadir and IPGKBL head of Physical Education Department Dana Raja.

KUCHING: Sarawak needs more technical officials to help run not only local badminton tournaments but also international tournaments such as the Maybank Kuching International Badminton Challenge that will be held at Stadium Perpaduan here from Nov 11-16.

Sarawak Sports Corporation (SSC) chief executive officer Dr Ong Kong Swee said although the state has technical officials, there is still a need to train and produce more such officials.

“SSC is working closely with Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM), Sarawak Badminton Association (SBA) and several institutions like Institut Pendidikan Guru Kampus Batu Lintang (IPGKBL), Institut Pendidikan Guru Kampus Samarahan, Unimas, UiTM, Miri Teachers Training College, Swinburne University Sarawak Campus to conduct badminton coaching, officiating and sports science courses.

We plan to conduct BAM Level I, II and III coaching courses and sports science courses with these institutions,” Ong said at the completion of the BAM Level

II Coaching Course at Ballang Lasung Gymnasium at IPGKBL yesterday.

The course from Oct 24-29 was an initiative taken by SSC in cooperation with BAM and SBA which saw 20 people including from Sabah and Semenanjung Malaysia taking part but some of the participants dropped out along the way as they were unable to secure more leave from their superiors.

“IPGKBL is a very good venue because it has a conducive environment and its director Awang Hambali Awang Hamdan has been very supportive of our efforts by providing the facilities for us to conduct the course with BAM coordinator and instructor Muhtasham Katan,” said Ong.

He said Hambali had encouraged more trainee teachers at IPGKBL to attend coaching courses so that after their graduation, they can promote badminton and train/coach the students in the schools they are posted to.

On the Maybank Kuching I nternational Badminton Challenge, Ong said it provided local badminton enthusiasts the opportunity to see world class shuttlers in action.

“We must organise more international competitions to create more enthusiasm in the sport,” he added.