Hafiz fitting in nicely as national coaches PETALING JAYA: Mohd Hafiz Hashim is making a smooth transition into coaching. 2003 All-England champion Hafiz started their new roles as Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM)’s junior coaches on Jan 2. The 35-year-old Hafiz oversees the singles (boys and girls) of the same age-group. For Hafiz, the main goal is to develop players to step up at the Asian and World Junior Championships this year. Leong Jun Hao was the top junior last year when he won the Asian Juniors in Jakarta and finished runner-up at the World Juniors in Yogyakarta. “After Jun Hao, the idea is to try and maintain the standard of producing good players capable of at least reaching the final,” said Hafiz. “But I’m still new here and I don’t really know these kids yet." “I’m starting to get to know them and to assess their level.” Besides Hafiz, a second former international – doubles shuttler Amelia Alicia Anscelly – also started work as junior coach on Jan 2. A third former international – doubles shuttler Mohd Lufti Zaim – also started work as junior coach on Jan 2. A fourth new addition to the coaching stable is former Singaporean shuttler Wahida Abdullah, who will assist Zhou Kejian in the Form One to Three singles department. BAM president Datuk Seri Norza Zakaria, who presided over the assembly on Wednesday, said the BAM were on track to bring all their juniors to be housed at the Akademi Badminton Malaysia (ABM) in Bukit Juara by March. A total of 61 juniors will be housed at the ABM. [Source]
