He's an awesome individual. Frequently smiling. Always willing to sit down and talk with anyone about badminton. He's very open on IBF's future plans as well. No hidden agenda or anything. He really knows his stuff about player's mentalities and the way they should approach their game and life. He told me a story that when he was still a player, he used to work in an office. And to work on his wrist power, he would place the trashcan very far away so that he could crumple papers and throw them from his chair. He would also walk up the stairs (on his toes!) to the office floor instead of taking the elevator. He said everyone would laugh at him but he didn't care. His life was badminton and everything else was second.
He is Punch Gunalan who represented Malaysia in singles in the 1970s. He was Runner-up to Rudy Hartono in the All-England 1974 and must have won a number of Malaysian titles. Trained as an engineer, he is currently the second man in the IBF as Deputy President, a post seemingly created especially for him for his dedication to world badminton. Hitherto he was one of the many Vice-Presidents and there was no Deputy President postion. Much of Malaysia badminton mileage and visibility can be credited to this man. I suppose he must have played a prominent role in convincing the IBF to transfer its present headquarters in England to Kuala Lumpu, Malaysia. However, he is also the man behind the proposed controversial changes to badminton to make it more modern and popular. How well will the proposed changes be received are left to be seen. Suffice to say, many of our BFers are not too excited and some are even appalled.
1st of all he is no longer the president of ABC. Sitiyoso replaced him and he will serve the 2005-2007 term. They will be doing something this coming August in Anaheim to promote badminton to the pll in the states. He didnt really elaborate much on it. In terms of the new system. Even it has not been tested. Based on the conversation, most of the players and coaches does look foward to try it. I told him that i still prefer the conventional scoring system.
To me, the proposed new scoring system and the elimination of the front baseline for doubles should be given a try and I think, given sufficient time, players can easily adapt to them and then it will become an accepted part and parcel of the badminton game. Remember the objective is to make the scoring easier to understand for the TV viewer who is new to badminton so as to retain his attention and get him interested in the game thereafter. Marketing More important to making badminton more popular worldwide is how the game is being marketed, as we have debated so lengthily and vigorously in these Forum pages. How the IBF can entice strong sponsors, other than Yonex, to really explode the game to the four corners of the earth via television. In this regard, it is not too late to take a leaf from FIFA, the so successful world body for English football or soccer. FIFA's structure may be different from IBF's, but there must be something that is quite similar or at least not too difficult to adapt and adopt, which could make greater headway in IBF's marketing efforts. I feel the IBF has now put in place a stronger and more even foundation to develop quality players throughout the world with the inauguration of the recent international Training Centres, but the trainees and the national associations must continue the good work done at these TCs, otherwise the long term results will not be apparent. A stronger base with more people, not necessarily playing the game only but spectators as well, will certainly help to woo more commercially viable companies to support badminton activities at their various levels. I think the people running IBF are quite determined to turn their dreams into reality! They deserve our support in whatever form.
Good news loh.. he told me that they might be considering Spore as one of the trainning center for IBF. However there are other countries as well in their mind.
So i guess no more IBF punching !i agree too. i dont know about other things but i favour Rally point scoring coz it ensures that the score keeps ticking arousing spectators' interest even more.the question is about getting the right no. of pts and sets for this type of scoring.
I don't think they will have another tournament. But he mentioned to me that there will be alot of follow-up activities has to be done to mantain the momentum after the WC.
Yes that's true,they cant have the WC in the US and just stop there.good to see that the IBF is thinking.
Hey Ants! Looking at your picture with Punch .... I think saw you during the MVP Cup .... so that was you walking around the court and chatting with the players .... cool!. For all 3 game nights I was seated in the upper row of the Special Ringside section just behind the officials' table.
They have alot of thinking and planning to do actually. The job is not as simple. I have the feeling that somehow, badminton will be going to a greater heights