Misbun's return to BAM a relief for Chong Wei

The return of Malaysian badminton legend Datuk Misbun Sidek as the men's singles head coach is definitely a good news for his former protege Datuk Lee Chong Wei.

The world champion said the return of his mentor to the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) provided a new ray of hope for the national badminton singles squad.

"With the return of Datuk Misbun Sidek as head coach, it is hoped that he will help the men''s singles squad to regain their status on the international stage.

"I had meetings with him and after the third meeting, he finally agreed to return to BAM," he told reporters after undergoing a daily training at Malaysian Badminton Academy in Bukit Kiara today.

Commenting further, Chong Wei said Misbun's appointment as head coach was a good development for him and the team who would participate in the World Badminton Championships in Glasgow, Scotland from Aug 21 to 27.

Meanwhile, Chong Wei reminded all BAM's young players to get ready for Misbun, who would start coaching on July 1.

Yesterday, BAM president Datuk Seri Mohamad Norza Zakaria announced the appointment of Misbun as the men's singles head coach.

Misbun was responsible for grooming Malaysia's top shuttler Chong Wei who has an illustrious career in the sport, being the first ever men's singles player to have won all Super Series titles and winning prestigious titles including two silver medals in the Olympics and three All-England titles.

Misbun unexpectedly quit as the national singles coach at the end of 2010 and turned down the BAM's offer to be the head coach of the national team three years later (2013) due to ''personal reasons''.

-- BERNAMA