Kuala Lumpur: The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) Thursday claimed that the national men's doubles coach Yoo Yong-sung's resignation was due the association's decision to turn down his request for a pay rise.BAM general manager Kenny Goh said the South Korean coach had requested for a higher salary and requested that BAM designate players who would be training under him, in March 2012, and repeated the request on April 24.
"We informed him that the men's doubles players were already affixed to certain coaches with fixed training programmes and assignment of coaches to international tournaments as well," he said.
As to the South Korean's request for a pay hike, Kenny said the BAM had told the former that the matter would be brought up at the BAM exco meeting on April 27.
"The BAM exco subsequently decided to confirm him after a six-month probation but with no salary increment. Thereafter, Yoo decided to tender his resignation," Kenny Goh said in a statement which provided BAM's side of the story with regard to Yong-sung's resignation.
The South Korean coach told reporters on Wednesday that his resignation had nothing to do with salary matters and said he was disappointed with the BAM.
Kenny Goh pointed out that when Yong-sung approached BAM in October last year, there was no vacancy for a coach.
"We were made to understand that he was intending to send his children to study in Malaysia.
With his credentials as a player, we thought it would be good to try him out as a coach in our set-up.
"We even assisted him to enrol his children at an international school in Kuala Lumpur," he said.
Kenny Goh said after a series of discussions with Yong-sung, BAM offered him a post in November 2011 to coach the men's doubles squad under Tan Kim Her as well as help the junior doubles players. - Bernama
