BAM to help Kisona rediscover form - Norza

KUALA LUMPUR: The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) will continue to give their full support to women's singles ace S. Kisona in an effort to help her rediscover her form.

BAM president Tan Sri Mohamad Norza Zakaria said they would provide the 2019 SEA Games gold medallist with all kinds of assistance, including from the psychological aspect.

He stressed that every individual at BAM was treated like a family member and even assured that the 23-year-old shuttler's performance would be closely monitored by the coaching staff and management.

"Kisona will be provided with the proper training regime to get her back to her previous condition, in terms of her mental and physical levels as well as in terms of her ability to fight at the highest level. We are looking into this and the coach is also preparing her for the next tournament.

"We have the necessary support system here. This is one big family, as I mentioned also in my remark and address to council members. I'm happy we are all united behind Kisona... she is part of the family and we are taking care of one of our family members who has been going through a traumatic and difficult period," he said.

Mohamad Norza said this at a press conference after chairing the BAM Council Meeting at the Badminton Academy Malaysia (ABM) in Bukit Kiara, yesterday.

Kisona had previously been the victim of racist comments on social media after the world number 53 was easily defeated by world number five Akane Yamaguchi of Japan in the Sudirman Cup semi-finals in Vaanta, Finland in October.

She reportedly said that the incident affected her emotions and performance in preparation for the Uber Cup competition that was held in Aarhus, Denmark in the same month.

Meanwhile, Mohamad Norza expressed confidence in Kisona's ability to get over the incident, adding that he was also optimistic that the Seremban-born shuttler would be able to rise again.

In a separate development, he also stated that the young shuttlers were in the best shape possible for the coming three back-to-back tournaments in Bali, Indonesia despite them having gone through a tight schedule in Europe since September.

In Bali, the national shuttlers will start their challenge in the Indonesia Masters from Nov 16-21, followed by the Indonesian Open (Nov 23-28) and the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Finals (Dec 1-5).

"We keep track of their progress and they all are in good condition. I think they all know their responsibilities and I hope they will give their very best because these are very high-level tournaments," he said.

In the meantime, Mohamad Norza also announced that Datin Seri Muhaini Zainal Abidin, the wife of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, has been appointed the new BAM patron, replacing former Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail who officially stepped down from her role last week.

-- BERNAMA