KUALA LUMPUR: Do not be surprised if you see Malaysian badminton head coach Yap Kim Hock sitting among the spectators during the competition at the Beijing Olympics next month.
With only a limited number of Olympic accreditation passes issued, Kim Hock has been forced to rely on tickets to get into the Beijing University of Technology Gymnasium, the venue for badminton from Aug 9-17.
Without the pass, he is also unable to enter the Athletes Village.
The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) had initially received three passes for officials and these were given to Misbun Sidek, Wong Tat Meng and Rexy Mainaky.
Misbun is the coach for singles players Lee Chong Wei and Wong Mew Choo while Tat Meng is in charge of veteran Wong Choong Hann.
Rexy takes care of the doubles pairs – Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong and Choong Tan Fook-Lee Wan Wah (men) and Chin Eei Hui-Wong Pei Tty (women).
They later applied for an additional one and it was given to team manager Datuk Lim Teong Kiat.
Kim Hock said this would be the first major tournament where he would not get on-court access to the players during the Games.
“I was disappointed when I heard about this at first but that’s not a big problem for me. I accepted the fact that the accreditations for non-athletes are limited at the Olympics. I will be with the team during the few days of training sessions before the competition starts,” he said.
Kim Hock is not the only one affected. Physical trainer Sean Sturgess and Frederick Tan, the mental trainer for Chong Wei and Mew Choo, will also have to purchase tickets to get into the venue.
The Malaysian team, comprising nine shuttlers, will leave for Beijing on Aug 5 and may have to train at a different court if they are unable to get immediate access to the competition venue.
In Athens four years ago, Misbun and Kim Hock went as singles and doubles coaches respectively.
The Star
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