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New Straits Times
8 hours ago
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Top umpires aplenty, BAM boss tells curious netizen
KUALA LUMPUR: Badminton fans, take note. Malaysia do have international umpires, and BA of Malaysia (BAM) president Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz has the numbers to prove it. In a short and snappy video posted on his social media, Tengku Zafrul responded to a curious netizen who wondered why no Malaysian officials seemed to feature on the global stage. "I don't see any international badminton umpires from Malaysia although we are a top four badminton country. Does anyone have answers?" Tajuddin wrote on X. Tengku Zafrul, who is known for his data-driven approach, quickly stepped in with the facts. "It's not true that there are no Malaysian umpires on the international stage," he said. "There are several levels to umpiring, and we have representatives across them." Tengku Zafrul outlined the hierarchy of umpiring qualifications — from BAM-accredited (BAM-A) and BAM-certified (BAM-C) officials at the local level, to those certified by Badminton Asia (BA-A and BA-C) and the Badminton World Federation (BWF-C and BWF-A) for international duties. "At the moment, we have 670 BAM-A umpires, who are eligible to officiate at state and national level. "BAM-C is the minimum level needed to umpire in international events hosted by BAM — we have 57 at this level. "But to officiate abroad, you need to be accredited by Badminton Asia or the BWF," he explained. Tengku Zafrul then rattled off Malaysia's current tally: seven umpires with Badminton Asia-A status, three with Asia-C, and one each with the highly coveted BWF-A and BWF-C certifications, bringing the total to 12 international umpires. "Compared to the big boys, we're doing well," he added. "China have 15, Indonesia 14, Malaysia 12, Japan 9 and Korea 7." Zafrul admitted that moving up the ranks isn't easy. "As the levels increase, the difficulty of getting accreditation rises, which is why we only have two at the BWF level."
The Star
9 hours ago
- Sport
- The Star
You can count on BAM president Zafrul to get it right with numbers
BAM president Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul AzizBAM Tengku Zafrul having a word with Kenneth Jonassen and Rexy Mainaky.–KAMARUL ARIFFIN PETALING JAYA: Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) boss Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz knows his numbers well. In a short video in his social media page, Zafrul gave a clear picture of how many officials are involved in the international stage as umpires. He was responding to a question posed by a Netizen, Tajuddin Kamil on Twitter or X. "I don't see any international badminton umpires from Malaysia although we are top four badminton country. Does anyone have answers?" Tajuddin posted. And Zafrul was quick to answer in his video. "It's not true that there is no umpire from Malaysia. There are several levels you need to go through to become an umpire," said Zafrul. In fact, Zafrul listed out there are BAM cccredited (BAM-A), BAM certificated (BAM-C), Badminton Asia accredited (BA-A), Badminton Asia certificated (BA-C) and BWF (Badminton World Federation (BWF) C and BWF A. "If you have BAM A, then you can be an umpire in the state and national level tournaments. "Currently, we have 670 umpires with BAM-A but to become an international umpire, you need at least BAM-C level which we have 57 currently. "Umpires with BAM-C are qualified only for international competitions organised by BAM. "To become an international umpire for overseas tournaments, you need to have Badminton Asia accreditation." Zafrul went on to impressively list the number of international umpires not only in Malaysia but also in China, Indonesia, Japan and South Korea. "We have seven umpires with Badminton Asia-A, 3 with Badminton Asia-C and one each with BWF A and BWF C status. So, overall, we have 12 international umpires. "If we were to compare with other badminton powerhouses, do we have more or less? "China have 15, Indonesia have 14, Malaysia have 12, followed by Japan with 9 and Korea with 7. "So, we are among the countries with the highest number of umpires. Of course, as the level gets higher, it's more difficult to get accreditation. "That's the reason, we have only two umpires with BWF-A and BWF-C status. "If anyone is interested, you never know, you can become our third international umpire," added Zafrul.
