KUALA LUMPUR – National para badminton coach Nova Armada is expected to have his contract extended by the National Sports Council (NSC) for the Los Angeles 2028 Paralympic Games.
However, the buzzing question now is whether Nova will be assigned to a different role in the national para badminton squad.
Speaking to Scoop, NSC Paralympic division director Sofian Hamzah revealed that Nova’s future will be determined at the upcoming NSC Working Committee meeting, scheduled for late November.
Nova has been a longstanding figure in Malaysian badminton, initially working with the Kuala Lumpur Badminton Association in 2004 before moving to Sports Affairs as a coach in 2013.
Although he was only officially appointed by the NSC to assist Cheah Liek Hou in defending his SU5 (physical impairment) gold medal, Nova had already been quietly helping the player during the Tokyo 2020 campaign, working behind the scenes alongside Datuk Rashid Sidek.
For the Paris campaign, in addition to guiding Liek Hou, Nova also successfully developed another SU5 player Muhammad Fareez Annuar, who nearly secured a bronze medal in his debut Paralympic appearance.
While there is currently no head coach position within the para badminton camp, Sofian clarified that the NSC is evaluating all aspects before making any decisions.
“We need to consider that in Paralympic badminton, there are various categories. If we were to assign all the players to Nova, we must be fair to him, as he would need to manage athletes with different disabilities, such as those with leg impairments or in wheelchairs,” said a representative.
“We have our current structure. For example, wheelchair players are coached by Woon Sze Mei, and we have another two coaches handling those with leg impairments. Nova currently manages Liek Hou and Fareez.
“Going forward, we will review the overall setup and discuss it in the Working Committee meeting. If there are players we feel can be assigned to Nova for training, we will take the necessary steps,” said Sofian.
For the Paris Paralympic campaign, in addition to Liek Hou and Fareez, the national para badminton squad was also represented by Muhammad Ikhwan Ramli (WH1), Noor Azwan Noorlan (WH2), and Mohd Amin Burhanuddin (SL4).
At the same time, Sofian revealed that they have big plans for Fareez in preparation for the LA 2028, considering Liek Hou will be 40 by the time the event takes place in four years.
Although the player has only been part of the national team for three years, the Johor Bahru-born player has already demonstrated impressive performance, notably winning the men’s doubles world championship with Liek Hou in Pattaya, Thailand, last February.
“We are very satisfied with Nova’s contributions, and all discussions between us and his team have been conducted smoothly.
“In fact, when Fareez was added to the national team, he was identified as a potential successor to Liek Hou, and we have seen his development to be very promising,” Sofian added. – September 14, 2024