How to represent Malaysia in Badminton?

Question: I’m 18 years old. I don’t know how to join to represent Malaysia in Badminton. Can u give me any idea please?

Answer:
Hi Yoges, thanks for your question.

Since badminton is a national sport in Malaysia, being part of the national badminton team is fairly competitive.

To be honest, you can still make it at the age of 18. I have some friends in Malaysia who joined the national team when they were 18.

However, the national team requires you to be an advanced player when you join them. Basically there will be a try out and the national coaches will decide whether you are eligible to be part of the team.

When you go for the try outs, you must be fit. This means having good stamina and being able to move relatively faster on the court compared to most recreational players.

One simple way to know whether you qualify is to win small tournaments in your area.

If you are able to win several small tournaments, you are more likely to qualify. This proves that your skills are above average.

What is the Training Routine of National Players?

Think twice whether you want to be a national player.

Training for national players is extremely tough!

I’ll give you a rough idea on what national players train every day.

When you join as a national player, you will not receive training to re-learn badminton skills. You are expected to possess the skills.

National players train to:

Improve Fitness

In professional badminton matches, fitness plays a very important role.

Improve Accuracy

From time to time you will train to perfect your shots. These include aiming your shots to fall on the sidelines and baseline.

Improve Tactics

As a national player, your opponents are mostly foreign players. Your coaches will develop tactics for you to defeat your foreign opponents. You will need to learn how to implement these tactics in your games.

Example of Koo and Tan

In the case of doubles pairs Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong, they competed in local tournaments.

They had already won several medals even before entering the national team.

Tan joined the Malaysian team when he was 16 years old. He was already a champion in his local district at that time. However he did not participate in international tournaments up to a year after joining the team.

The point of saying this is to emphasize that getting into the national team (especially in Malaysia) is very competitive.

You’ll need a high level of commitment (due to tough training) to stay in the team.

How to Join?

The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) is responsible for the recruitment of national players.

Its office is situated at the Bukit Jalil badminton stadium. You can look for more answers there.

Alternatively, you can look up at the Kuala Lumpur Racket Club (KLRC). It is a well-respected club that recruits elite players too. I’ve seen a number of KLRC players competing at the international level. It will be worth paying a visit to KLRC.