BAM didn’t decline hosting Thomas, Uber Cup 2026, says deputy president

 

BAM deputy president I, V Subramaniam (left), has expressed disappointment at comments made by sports commissioner Suhardi Alias in an FMT report earlier today.

PETALING JAYA: The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) has refuted claims it declined an offer to host the 2026 Thomas and Uber Cups.

In a statement, BAM deputy president I, V Subramaniam, said the claims were baseless.

“This is utter nonsense. BAM never turned down any official offer (for Malaysia) to host the 2026 Thomas and Uber Cup,” he said.

Expressing disappointment at the comments made by a “sports official”, Subramaniam questioned the motives behind bringing BAM into the discussion.

Subramaniam was referencing comments made by sports commissioner Suhardi Alias in connection with a proposal for Malaysia to replace the Australian state of Victoria as hosts of the 2026 Commonwealth Games.

In his comments, Suhardi claimed that the BAM had turned down an offer to host the Thomas and Uber Cup scheduled to be held in two years’ time.

Denying this, Subramaniam said: “I’m not sure why this was brought up at all; there is no issue here at all. Any allegations suggesting (the BAM refused) to host these prestigious tournaments are unfounded.”

He said BAM was “disappointed” to be “dragged into an unrelated matter”.

Subramaniam said youth and sports minister Hannah Yeoh had clarified that a decision on whether the nation would host the 2026 Commonwealth Games would be made by the Cabinet soon.

Earlier today, Suhardi was reported as criticising the proposal, describing it as shocking, financially risky and short-sighted.

He said Victoria had withdrawn after the projected hosting cost was found to be in the region of A$7 billion (RM21 billion).

He also said the Birmingham city council was plunged into bankruptcy after it hosted the 2022 edition of the games.

His comments came after OCM president Norza Zakaria said yesterday that the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) had offered Malaysia the opportunity to host the event, and had offered to invest £100 million (RM602 million) to support the “local delivery and legacy planning of the event”. - FMT