KUALA LUMPUR – Understandably, the Malaysian women’s singles department is currently the weakest among all five badminton disciplines.
However, Jeffer Rosobin, junior head coach at Akademi Badminton Malaysia, believes that with time and the right approach, the situation can improve.
Drawing inspiration from the Asian Junior Championships (AJC) in Yogyakarta in July and the recently concluded Sukma in Sarawak, Jeffer remains optimistic about Malaysia’s chances at the upcoming World Junior Championships in Nanchang, China, next month.
“We need a bit of time, but I see some of the younger talent showing good progress.
“At the AJC earlier this year, we won a bronze in the mixed team event, and one silver and two bronze medals in the individual events. This is good progress.
“More recently, in Sukma, Oo Shan Zi reached the final after defeating K. Letshanaa, who is one of the country’s top senior players.
“What I want to say is that preparation so far has been good. We hope this will all be translated into results at the World Junior Championships,” Jeffer told Scoop recently.
The Indonesian coach, who played a key role in the rise of world number seven women’s singles player Gregoria Mariska Tunjung, has already been shaping the Malaysian juniors well.
Since his arrival late last year, junior players like Siti Zulaikha Azmi (girls’ singles), Aaron Tai and Kang Khai Xing have performed well at the prestigious German and Dutch junior championships.
Jeffer, who places high importance on discipline and attitude, also commented on the draw for the World Junior Championships’ mixed-team Suhandinata Cup, which took place two days ago. Malaysia are in Group C alongside the Netherlands, Mongolia, Estonia and Norway.
Only the top teams from each of the groups, A to H, will advance to the quarter-finals.
“I’m grateful because we’ve got a reasonably decent draw. Of course, the target is to top the group, but we will take it one step at a time.
“The players have done well up to this point, particularly at the AJC, so I hope they will draw inspiration from those performances,” added Jeffer.
In the Sukma final, Penang’s Shan Zi lost to another national senior, Wong Ling Ching of Sarawak, 21-12, 21-15. – August 26, 2024