Establishment of the Asian High Performance Badminton Centre in Malaysia

One of the first legacy initiatives undertaken by Dr. Norza ZAKARIA, following his election as OCA Vice President for Southeast Asia, was the establishment of the Asian High Performance Badminton Centre in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The concept for the Asian High Performance Badminton Centre was initialy proposed by Dr. Norza ZAKARIA to the Director General of OCA, Captain Husain AL-MUSALLAM, during his working visit to Kuala Lumpur on Monday, 1st May 2023.

During the visit, Captain Husain AL-MUSALLAM, who was given a guided tour by Dr. Norza ZAKARIA to the PETRONAS Akademi Badminton Malaysia (ABM), was highly impressed with the state-of-the-art facilities within the ABM. The ABM not only houses the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) but also serves as the primary training hub for the National Badminton Team of Malaysia.

The main objective of establishing this Centre is to contribute to the development of Badminton across Asia by providing world-class training facilities in Malaysia, particularly for developing NOCs in the region.

The Centre aims to nurture talent by offering high performance training to players, as well as development opportunities for coaches and umpires, through structured OCA Development Programs.

This initiative represents a collaboration between the OCA, the NOC Malaysia and BAM. The partnership was solidified with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding during the 44th OCA General Assembly on Sunday, 8th September 2024, at the Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, India.

The Memorandum of Understanding was signed by the newly elected OCA President, H.E. Raja Randhir SINGH, representing the OCA, Dr. Norza ZAKARIA, representing NOC Malaysia in his new role as OCA Vice President for Southeast Asia and Mr. Subramaniam VERUTHASALAM, Acting President of BAM. This historic collaboration marks a significant milestone for the future of Badminton in Asia and reflects the commitment of all parties involved to advance the sport at both regional and global levels.

“As the former President of BAM and Honorary President of Badminton Asia, I am honoured to serve as OCA Vice President for Southeast Asia and contribute to the development of Badminton in this new capacity”,

“I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the newly elected OCA President, H.E. Raja Randhir SINGH, for his visionary leadership. His dedication to the Olympic Movement and his commitment to fostering sports development across Asia have been a true source of inspiration. With his guidance, we are confident that Asian High Performance Badminton Centre will play a pivotal role in the success of the OCA Development Program”,

“I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to OCA Director General, Captain Husain AL-MUSALLAM, for his invaluable support in establishing the Asian High Performance Badminton Centre in Malaysia. His guidance and collaboration have been instrumental in making this vision a reality”,

“I also extend my appreciation to BAM, under the leadership of Acting President Mr. Subramaniam VERUTHASALAM, for providing crucial technical advice and access to the state-of-the-art training facilities at PETRONAS Akademi Badminton Malaysia (ABM). Their contributions are essential in supporting the OCA Development Program, which will greatly benefit Badminton players, coaches and umpires throughout Asia”.

These remarks were shared by Dr. Norza ZAKARIA following the Memorandum of Understanding Signing Ceremony in New Delhi, India.