KUALA LUMPUR, July 21 — The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) has appointed Olympic sports administrator Robert Gambardella as chief executive officer of the Academy Badminton Malaysia (ABM).

BAM president Datuk Seri Mohamad Norza Zakaria said Gambardella will start work on August 1, subject to immigration clearance.

"He has a thorough understanding of the sports industry and he joins us with a wealth of experience, having been the Singapore Sports Institute (SSI) chief for seven years. Robert was the outstanding candidate in a strong field.

"With his good leadership skills and enthusiasm for badminton, we believe we have found the right person to lead ABM and establish the facility as a profitable badminton centre of excellence,” he said after chairing the BAM management committee meeting at the ABM today.

Norza added that Gambardella would be tasked with overseeing the mini national sports science unit at ABM that is scheduled to start in  mid-August to support senior and junior squads.

He hoped ABM’s vision would be realised, with sports technology at the crux, to strengthen the technical aspects of the world-class training facility.

Gambardella was the SSI chief from 2009 to 2016, with Joseph Schooling becoming the finest athlete to emerge during that period as the swimmer went on to capture the island republic’s first-ever gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. — Bernama