Rashid ready to get on with task and not worry over 'Spilled Milk'

Rashid Sidek who returned to the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) fold to resume his duty as the national singles coach today hopes to wipe out the bitter memories of his recent spat with the national body.

The former national singles coach started 'work' after deciding to retract his resignation as coach 12 days after he had handed his resignation letter to BAM (Sept 19).

Rashid, the 1996 Atlanta Olympics bronze medallist, had on Sept 19 tendered his resignation, citing interference from BAM's newly-appointed Talent Management Group director Tan Aik Mong, who wished to reshuffle the national badminton training structure.

But in a twist of events, Aik Mong himself tendered his resignation when the BAM decided to return to its old training structure instead of what Aik Mong had introduced.

Rashid said his main focus would be to prepare junior and elite players for the Kuala Lumpur National Open Circuit that starts at the Cheras Badminton Stadium, tomorrow.

"My focus will be the same as before...no major changes in my duties. I will continue to train national players like before.

"As for the KL Open tomorrow, I want the elite players to prove themselves they still have the qualities to excel and become champions," he told reporters after a training session at the Juara Stadium in Bukit Kiara, here, today.

Speaking of his strained relationship with the BAM President Tan Sri Tengku Mahaleel Tengku Ariff, Rashid said both parties have decided to forgive and forget the incident.

At the same time, Rashid will be part of the coaching structure introduced by Tengku Mahaleel which is known as the 'Win-Win Project' that is aimed to increase the chances of players winning titles at the international stage.

Meanwhile, National ace and world number one Datuk Lee Chong Wei welcomed Rashid's decision to return and hoped Rashid would continue to guide young players to reach greater heights.

Chong Wei who announced that he would take a break from competitions for the month of December, said the decision was to enable him to rest and recover before preparing for some major competitions in 2014.

"In January (2014) there is the Malaysian Open and Korean Open. All-England is in March and the World Championships in Denmark (August). Apart from these competitions there will be the Commonwealth Games in Scotland (July) and Asian Games in South Korea (September).

"So, I guess the calendar next year will be packed and very challenging," he said.