KUALA LUMPUR: Former shuttler Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin will join the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) as singles coach from Oct 1.

BAM managed to persuade Iskandar to leave his current position as Ireland coach.

"We have appointed Iskandar to strengthen our singles coaching team. He will join on Oct 1," said BAM secretary-general Datuk Kenny Goh, adding that singles coaching director Kenneth Jonassen would decide if Iskandar would guide the women's or men's singles.

BAM had been on the lookout for a replacement for women's singles coach Jeffer Rosobin after the Indonesian resigned at the end of February.

The 33-year-old Iskandar, who started coaching in Ireland four years ago, has been instrumental in the rise of men's singles player Nhat Nguyen, who is now ranked No. 31 in the world, and has helped elevate the profile of Irish badminton.

Under his guidance, Ireland qualified two players for the Paris Olympics last August, namely Nguyen and women's singles shuttler Rachael Darragh, marking a major milestone for the country.