The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) has upgraded its facilities at the Akademi Badminton Malaysia (ABM), including setting up an entertainment room for national players, as reported by Berita Harian.
This comes as BAM tightens discipline among players while also improving their welfare.
Players now have entertainment room
BAM Performance Committee chairman Datuk Seri Lee Chong Wei said the association has introduced several improvements under BAM president Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz.
One of them is an entertainment room for players, who are now required to stay in the hostel, except for those who are married.
According to Lee, the room was created so players have a place to relax without having to leave the academy too often.
“Previously, BAM did not have an entertainment room. Now we have one,” he told BH Sukan.
“We discussed it with the committee and president. If we do not want players to go out often, at least we should provide them a place to rest.”
Karaoke, snooker, darts & PS5
Lee said the entertainment room comes with karaoke, a snooker table, darts, internet access, and even a PS5 console.
He added that athletes are human too and need time to relax after training.
“They cannot just stay in their rooms every day. They also need to relax,” he said.
Food budget also increased
Aside from entertainment facilities, BAM has also improved the players’ meals.
Lee said there had been complaints in the past about the quality of food provided to athletes.
Following this, BAM increased the daily food budget and upgraded the cafeteria facilities at ABM.
According to Lee, the previous food budget was around RM30 to RM40 per person per day.
It has now been increased to RM85 per person per day.
No more excuses, says Lee
However, Lee stressed that with these improvements in place, players should no longer use welfare issues as an excuse to neglect discipline.
He said BAM is taking attendance and training discipline seriously, especially when it comes to players skipping training without valid reasons.
Firm action will be taken against those who fail to follow the rules.
Discipline issues being handled step by step
Lee admitted that BAM is currently facing several discipline issues among players.
He said these matters will be handled gradually, starting with senior players before moving on to the back-up squad.
“I know BAM has many discipline problems now. I have to solve them one by one,” he said.
“If an athlete has no discipline, they will not go far.”
