Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) president Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz has thrown his full support behind doubles coaching director Rexy Mainaky following Malaysia’s failure to meet its four-gold target at the SEA Games.
Zafrul made it clear that Rexy will remain in his role, stressing that shortcomings at a single tournament should not overshadow the broader progress made by the national team this year.
Malaysia’s only gold medal in badminton came through women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan–M. Thinaah. Other medal hopefuls, including former world champions Aaron Chia–Soh Wooi Yik in men’s doubles and reigning mixed doubles world champions Chen Tang Jie–Toh Ee Wei, settled for silver and bronze respectively.
Rexy had earlier stated that he was prepared to take full responsibility for the team’s performances and step aside if necessary. However, Zafrul rejected that notion, highlighting Rexy’s instrumental role in Malaysia’s historic showing at the World Championships in Paris in August.
At the Worlds, Tang Jie–Ee Wei captured Malaysia’s first-ever mixed doubles gold, while Pearly–Thinaah became the country’s first women’s doubles pair to reach the final and win silver.
“I appreciate Rexy’s honesty, but my position is clear — we still need him,” Zafrul said in a social media post. “Experience and development philosophy cannot be judged by one tournament. Building a national squad is a long-term process.”
He added that the SEA Games served as a reminder of the challenges Malaysia faces at the regional level, but insisted the team would learn and emerge stronger.
Zafrul also pointed out that Malaysia surpassed its overall medal target, returning home with nine medals against a target of seven.
The men’s team won silver, while the women’s team, men’s doubles pair Man Wei Chong–Tee Kai Wun, men’s singles shuttlers Leong Jun Hao and Justin Hoh, and women’s singles player Wong Ling Ching all claimed bronze medals.
Zafrul described Ling Ching’s bronze as particularly significant, noting it was Malaysia’s first women’s singles medal at the SEA Games in six years.
“This shows our talent development is moving in the right direction,” he said. “What happened is not an individual failure but a collective responsibility involving players, coaches and management. We win together, and when we fall short, it is shared by all.”
