In this week’s ‘The Power of Asia’ series, Badminton Asia interviewed members of the Myanmar Badminton Association to ask them about their current situation and how the badminton players and coaches have been doing during this COVID-19 Pandemic. Like the previous Member Associations such as Nepal and Dubai, the Coronavirus pandemic disturbed many of their scheduled plans and events. We had the opportunity to talk with Aung Paing, the Myanmar Badminton President, Maung Maung, the Head Coach, and Nyan Lwin, the Secretary General, and received greater information about how they, as a badminton association have been developing badminton for the last 10 years and how they are handling the changes due to the pandemic.
Nyan Lwin, is the Secretary General of the Myanmar Badminton Association. He is a former player and has always been interested in being involved with badminton whether on or off court. That’s why, as a former player he has always been interested in helping to develop the federation. He states that for the last 10 years, Myanmar’s badminton condition has been very low on the Asian level, and because of this they are trying to increase their levels by making development programs in Myanmar Badminton Federation. They are growing in popularity, but are still behind other sports such as football and volleyball.
When asked what programs Myanmar Badminton have done to improve their athletes, Mr. Lwin says “In 2016, our federation trained with our national training head coach, but the next year we also hired foreign coaches from Indonesia. Around 20-25 players were trained by our national and Indonesian coaches to help them for international tournaments. The young players got experience and exposure, so our badminton federation is now moving forward.” Programs like these help improve the current players, which also help to increase many young people’s interest in badminton. For the last 4-5 years, Mr. Lwin states that there were few badminton players, however now it’s grown since.
Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, many of their current and future plans were put on hold, including proper training and development. They’ve adjusted quite well, as Mr. Lwin states that the ministry of the country is helping to control the cases. But he added, “However, the badminton players are unable to play in the stadium yet, so now they are resting and having light training with our head coach. The condition is quite stable here. The players are able to play, however it’s not intensive training. Just light, individual training, with their coach, because the ministry still hasn’t allowed them to play (in the stadium).” Their light training has been happening since April, with players having individual training with their coach.
The pandemic has restricted their players from fully practicing like they would normally do, limiting their face to face training. Coach Maung Maung is the Head Coach for the Myanmar Badminton Federation and coaches the national team, and says that they still do face to face training, however it’s much more limited than before: “Now, we only train 1x a day, at 8:30am. I train together with 9 players”. Coach Maung Maung has been coaching for 30 years. He was an Asian Junior 1978 champion, and also SEA games bronze medal champion.
The pandemic has also halted plans for local tournaments. This year, they were going to host the Future Series and International challenge but because of COVID-19 they had to cancel. But despite the road block, Myanmar has plenty of goals moving forward. Mr. Lwin states that after COVID-19, they have plans for tournaments and training for the young players. “Once the government allows travel, we can travel to other places and choose the talented young players to train them,” he says.
“The players are all training and ready for tournaments. They hope they can play the Future Series and International Series soon, because they are ready.” Coach Maung Maung adds.
Despite this, badminton continues to grow in popularity and in strength. They hosted the Badminton Asia U17 & U15 Junior Championships 2017 in Yangon and 2018 in Mandalay. However, when asked about the chances of winning the Olympics, Coach Maung Maung said “It’s difficult, because there are so many big countries we have to compete with, but we will try.”
The future of badminton in Myanmar is bright, but they still have a long road ahead. The current development programs they have will continue to boost the interest of the sport. Badminton Asia has also contributed in the development of badminton in Myanmar through programs such as AOP (Asia Olympic Project), Shuttle Time, and Coaching Education, under the assistance of Thanabalan A., Badminton Asia's Senior Development Manager. Badminton Asia has also transferred event organisational knowledge and trained their personnel, and as a result, in 2019, Myanmar hosted the Myanmar International Series in 2019. Additionally, they have a growing list of young talented players in the country such as Thet Htar Thuzar, who is involved in Badminton Asia’s Asia Olympic Project, that are increasing Myanmar’s presence in the world badminton stage.
Mr. Aung Paing, the Myanmar Badminton President, hopes that Myanmar Badminton Federation will continue to grow and the sport will continue to rise in popularity in the country. Not only that, but he’s set the goals for Myanmar Badminton at the Olympic stage: “We believe that after 8 years, after 2 Olympics, they can achieve their Olympic dream. That is our goal.”