Park joo Bong The Chosen One

NO prize for guessing who will get the national director of coaching job though BA of Malaysia (BAM) president Datuk Seri Nadzmi Salleh has declined to mention any name.

He can be no other than South Korean legend Park Joo Bong.

All Joo Bong needs to do is to come to Kuala Lumpur to sign on the dotted lines.

Nadzmi, after a meeting with National Sports Council (NSC) director general Datuk Seri Zolkples Embong in Bukit Jalil yesterday, said BAM has narrowed down its search to a single candidate.

The BAM boss hinted that the person is a foreigner with strong technical background.

So far, BAM has only approached Joo Bong through its development manager David Wee and doubles chief coach Tan Kim Her during the Japan Open a fortnight ago.

Yesterday's meeting was more about BAM getting NSC's agreement to jointly pay Joo Bong's salary.

Zolkples is said to have given the greenlight to hire the former Olympic champion.

Joo Bong's current job as Japan's head coach will end in March. He is expected to meet the Nippon Badminton Association next week for talks but could arrive in Kuala Lumpur before that to finalise his contract as BAM director of coaching.

"We have zeroed in on one candidate who is a foreigner with a strong technical background," said Nadzmi.

"He is interested and we will discuss further when he comes here as soon as possible. His contract with his existing employer runs till early next year but we would prefer him to come in January. If the candidate gets his release, we will have to pay compensation (to Nippon BA).

"He will initially agree on probably a three-year contract and the option to renew for another two years if everything goes well. We will announce his name when he officially signs the contract."

Joo Bong, who worked with BAM from 2000 to 2003 and the Nippon BA for seven years, has earned the praise of Zolkples who was BAM secretary when the South Korean first worked here.

Joo Bong's efforts didn't bring major success then as he didn't have much authority as the men's doubles chief coach and he also lacked support from BAM's top management.

However, Nadzmi has promised that the new director of coaching will be given full authority, and this is one reason why Joo Bong is keen to work in Malaysia again.