MORTEN FROST SAID TO BE CONSIDERING MALAYSIAN HEAD COACHING POST
by Mike Grossman (from a report filed by J. Chang)

December 4, 1996 (New Shuttlenws) - In rumours circulating at the Grand Prix Finals in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia, Morten Frost of Denmark, one of the legendary men's singles players in badminton history, is reportedly considering taking on the Malaysian head coaching position and is said to be in negotiations with the Badminton Association of Malaysia.

The Malaysian head coaching post has been vacant ever since Rasif Sidek resigned after the Atlanta Olympics.

Frost was one of the top badminton men's singles players in the past decade and has won many of the top badminton tournaments. He was the architect behind Denmark's surge in the past two years, culminating in a world men's team championships (Thomas Cup) runner-up finish in May this year and in Poul-Erik Hoyer-Larsen's Olympic men's singles gold medal in August.

Frost is said to have resigned his post at the Danish badminton association, effective January 1, 1997.

However, some badminton observers expressed their opinion that Frost may elect to stay closer to home and take on the post of British Olympic badminton manager. The same observers said that the British were looking for a neutral non-British manager who could impartially select and direct the British Olympic team candidates from the several British nations (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland) and that Frost was a prime candidate for that spot.

The same observers were not aware if the British had made their selection.

It would be a turnabout for Frost to take on the Malaysian head coaching post. In May, he had expressed at a press conference a rather low opinion of Malaysian prospects in men's singles play. He is also said to be concerned about the fragmentation in Malaysian badminton with the top men's singles players having split off from the Badminton Association of Malaysia and having joined Nusa Mahsuri, a professional group headed by Jalani Sidek.