KUALA LUMPUR – The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) is offering a lucrative reward, exceeding RM1 million, to the national team if they successfully bring home the Thomas Cup, which will take place in Chengdu, China starting on April 28.
This was confirmed by BAM administration director, Michelle Chai, who was met at the Akademi Badminton Malaysia (ABM) in Bukit Kiara, today.
Speaking to Scoop, Michelle explained that this initiative is one of the efforts meant to reignite the spirit and motivation of the national team amidst the chaos surrounding preparation for the upcoming tournament.
However, Michelle did not elaborate in detail on the actual rewards that the players will receive if they manage to end the country’s 32-year drought in lifting the Thomas Cup trophy.
“The last BAM council meeting had been discussing this matter where they acknowledged the importance for Malaysia to win the Thomas Cup and a gold medal at the Olympics.
“So, the council has given the president the mandate to establish a scheme that will assist in providing rewards to the players for winning these two important championships.
“On the administrative side, we want to ensure and provide rewards to the players if they perform well, just like any job in any industry, if you do your job well, you will be rewarded,” said Michelle.
Meanwhile, a source within the badminton fraternity told Scoop earlier that players participating in this Thomas Cup will receive incentives of up to RM200,000 for each match, but only if the team lifts the trophy.
However, Michelle emphasised that since this is a team championship, any incentives and rewards will only be given if Malaysia emerges as the champion, even if a player manages to win all the matches they compete in during the Thomas Cup.
“As long as the team wins, we have come up with an incentive structure. But the incentive structure only applies if we win and is not based on individual matches.
“The scheme is equitable, not equal, because it will be based on their performance and contribution to the team.
“We don’t count per match, we only count if we win. Since this is a team event,” she added.
The national squad has listed five men’s singles players to be brought to Chengdu, including Lee Zii Jia, Ng Tze Yong, Cheam June Wei, Leong Jun Hao, and Justin Hoh.
Additionally, five men’s doubles players who will represent the country are Aaron Chia, Soh Wooi Yik, Nur Izzudin Rumsani, Goh Sze Fei, and Haikal Nazri.
For this edition of the Thomas Cup, Malaysia has been drawn into Group D alongside Denmark, Hong Kong, and Algeria. – April 17, 2024