Be a champion

IN conjunction with the 2010 Thomas Cup which will be held in Kuala Lumpur next May, TV9 and Yonex with the support of the Youth Ministry and the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) will introduce a badminton reality show called Jaguh.

It is timely as badminton has achieved remarkable success in the Malaysian sports arena, such as Malaysia winning the Thomas Cup in 1992, All England in 2003 (singles) and 2007 (double) and a silver medal in the 2008 Olympics.

After the achievements of players such as Cheah Soon Kit, Misbun Sidek and Soo Beng Kiang and current heroes such as Datuk Lee Chong Wei, Hafiz Hashim and Tan Boon Heong, it is the nation’s responsibility to make sure the talents of fresh players are not wasted.

Now, with new show Jaguh, TV9 hopes that it could be the platform to let the fresh talents shine.

In line with the station’s mission to search for the next talented young athlete, Jaguh also hopes to drum up interest for the game, especially for the young generation.

Jaguh is open to all boys aged from nine to 11. Admirable attitude, talents and fitness are what’s needed to be a great athlete and to make it big in the show.

The show will be judged by the coaches from the BAM, led by Kwan Yoke Meng (one of Malaysia’s badminton singles players who won the Thomas Cup in 1992).

He will be assisted by three experienced coaches – Koah Kar Lin, Salleh Swandi and Sufian Abu Bakar.

This show will give young players a chance to show off their talents and follow in the footsteps of their idols.

Producer Wahyu Nurtjahyono Subiyakto, 33, said that his biggest challenge in producing Jaguh is to juggle the filming schedule.

“We really do a lot of juggling as these boys will be back at school from Jan 4 so that’s our biggest challenge,” said Wahyu, adding that his team comprises four directors who will focus on two students each.

“We decided to come up with Jaguh after doing a bit of research in the Klang Valley. We discovered that many badminton courts in sports complexes are fully booked at most times.

“That’s how we discovered how popular badminton is among Malaysians regardless of their age.

“And for a start we don’t want to be too ambitious. That’s the reason we are only having an audition in the city. Even then we received calls from people outside the Klang Valley and they told me that they are willing to come all the way to the city for the audition.

“Sixteen hopefuls are selected during the audition and that will be trimmed down to eight finalists. They will compete during the school holidays in March,” explained executive producer K.M. Baskaran.

For the whole month of January, the production crews will follow eight finalists to their homes to record their daily routines such as home-based training and their lifestyle.

“We will bring the coach with us during the filming so they will give tips and advice to the contestants.

“During the one-week school holiday in March the eight boys will undergo intensive training as there will be an elimination process until we have the two finalists,” explained Wahyu, adding that the contestants will be evaluated based on their commitment, talent and performance.

Jaguh comprises eight episodes and will premiere on March 26 with the finale on May 14 on 9TV at 9pm.