Tengku Zafrul: Lock in Pearly Tan-Thinaah before it's too late

Malay Mail

13-06-2025

KUALA LUMPUR, June 13 — Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) president Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz has called for a swift resolution to the contract issue involving Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah, expressing hope that the pair will remain with the national setup.
He said it is important to maintain stability and focus within the national team setup, especially for players preparing for major tournaments.
'Sometimes, things like this will not be good if you want to be 100 per cent focused on what you want to do.
'Secondly, to me, we need to make sure that we keep all the players within BAM. So I have asked management to please try and make sure they stay,' he told reporters after visiting the national players at a training session at Akademi Badminton Malaysia (ABM) here today.
Previously, the media reported that the women's doubles pair has yet to renew their BAM contracts, which expired last December.
Despite the uncertainty surrounding their future with BAM, Pearly and Thinaah have continued to perform well, capturing the Thailand Open title last month and finishing runners-up in the recent Indonesia Open.
Tengku Zafrul also said BAM is still working on strengthening the guidelines for players transitioning out of the national team.
'I think we need to look at this objectively because we don't want to rush into making any decision.
'But at the same time, we want to focus on, like I said, the outcome,' he said. — Bernama