KUALA LUMPUR – Amid Malaysia’s impressive advancements in men’s doubles badminton, with five pairs now ranked among the world’s top 20, the national squad continues to grapple with the lacklustre performance of its women’s singles players.
Akademi Badminton Malaysia coaching director Rexy Mainaky attributes the national women’s squad’s decline in performance to mental challenges rather than technical deficiencies.
Goh Jin Wei, Malaysia’s number one women’s singles player, is currently ranked 33rd in the world.
Jin Wei has been competing professionally for three years since leaving the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM).
K. Letshanaa, who rejoined BAM in January last year, is ranked 57th, followed by Wong Li Ching at 71st and Siti Nurshuhaini Azman, the recently crowned Lithuanian International champion, at 213th.
Given these rankings, it is no surprise that only Jin Wei qualifies to compete in high-profile tournaments on the BWF World Tour.
“For women’s singles, we need to pray hard. It’s no longer just about skills. It’s about the external issues they carry into their minds, which ultimately depend on the players themselves,” said Rexy.
“While they possess the skills and techniques, it’s about how they manage to separate their thoughts once they step onto the court, leaving behind unnecessary baggage.
“Perhaps they bring pressures they cannot handle onto the court. I see this issue where even coming to training sessions feels burdensome for them, so they do not enjoy it.”
However, Rexy remains pleased with the progress in the men’s doubles sector, especially Haikal Nazri and Choong Hon Jian, who have climbed to 20th in the world rankings in less than a year of being paired together.
Haikal and Hon Jian now join Malaysia’s top pairs, including Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik (ranked 5th), Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani (13th), Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun (16th), and the professional pair Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi (18th).
“It’s indeed a positive development, though I hope Hon Jian and Haikal do not repeat their casual approach seen in the semi-finals of the Australian Open,” he added.
“Now we have three strong senior pairs and three promising junior pairs who have competed in Super 500 tournaments – Hon Jian-Haikal, Wan Arif (Junaidi)-(Yap) Roy King, and Aaron (Tai)-Kang (Khai Xin).
“The current achievement of Haikal-Hon Jian sends a message to other pairs to step up, as our junior pairs have shown good performance, especially in Super 500 competitions.
“I hope this will boost the morale of other pairs as well. Looking ahead, for each Super 500 championship, we now have three national pairs ready to compete.” – June 19, 2024