KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 23 — National men’s doubles Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik said they have submitted several candidates for the new men’s doubles head coach to the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) to replace Tan Bin Shen.

Aaron said, however, it is up to BAM to make the final decision on the new head coach of the national men’s doubles.

"For me, anyone (the new head coach) can be... we have discussed and suggested but the final decision is up to BAM,” he told reporters after the sponsorship extension ceremony between BAM and leading isotonic drink, 100PLUS, here, today.

Last Friday, BAM announced that Bin Shen would step down on Jan 13 after joining the governing body in December 2020.

The former national player played a key role in raising the standards of several national men’s doubles pairs, including helping Aaron-Wooi Yik win Malaysia’s first world title in 2022.

The 40-year-old coach will reportedly be serving the Hong Kong national team under former world number one men’s singles player Wong Choong Hann starting next February, alongside two other Malaysian coaches, Jeremy Gan and Loh Wei Sheng.

Aaron also said he learned about Bin Shen’s resignation after the conclusion of the 2024 World Tour Finals in Hangzhou, China, recently, which saw the world number six pair failing to pass the group stage.

The 27-year-old said that among the sweet memories he will never forget was when Bin Shen guided him and Wooi Yik to create history by becoming the first national badminton representative to win the world championship in 2022.

He also hopes that the new head coach will be able to improve their performance as well as other national men’s doubles pairs.

Wooi Yik, who greatly appreciates Bin Shen’s contribution in improving their previous performance, hopes to achieve the goal of winning the 2025 Malaysia Open scheduled to be held from Jan 7 to 12 at the Axiata Arena.

Meanwhile, BAM acting president Datuk V. Subramaniam hopes that the extension of 100PLUS sponsorship for another four years from 2025-2028 will be able to boost the performance of players, especially young players.

Meanwhile, F&N Beverages Sdn Bhd chief marketing officer Leong Wai Yin also hopes that his company’s sponsorship of BAM can help the players achieve their mission of winning gold at the 2028 Olympic Games. — Bernama