KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysian badminton players who missed the cut for the upcoming World Tour Finals should kickstart their preparations for the next season early if they wish to enhance their chances of qualifying for the prestigious season-ending tournament in 2024.
Former national coach Datuk James Selvaraj said while those who did not make it to this year’s finals need not be overly concerned since the player list is already set, coaches must conduct a thorough analysis of their shuttlers’ performances over the past year.
He explained that by identifying areas for improvement and addressing shortcomings, players can significantly bolster their prospects of competing against the world’s best in next season’s culminating event.
“To qualify for this tournament, you have to be consistent throughout the entire season,” the 73-year-old, who was also BAM’s high-performance director, told Scoop when contacted.
“Players understand the need to perform well to accumulate enough points for a top-eight qualification.
“I don’t think we need to worry too much as the coaches are working on this, and if the players didn’t achieve their targets, the focus should shift to preparing for 2024 since there are no more matches left this season.”
Meanwhile, former world number two men’s singles shuttler Ong Ewe Hock expressed concern over the absence of representation in men’s singles, women’s singles, and women’s doubles.
Citing it as a sign that Malaysian players in those categories are not among the best on the World Tour, Ewe Hock urged Malaysian shuttlers in these categories to intensify their efforts and coaches to drive their charges to reclaim positions among the top eight.
“The World Tour Finals is competitive. The players need to work harder and the coaches need to push their charges to get them back into the top eight.
“The players who didn’t qualify now have a lot of time to start preparing for upcoming tournaments in the next year,” added the 1998 Commonwealth Games Gold medalist.
The current World Tour Finals are scheduled to take place in Hangzhou, China from December 13 to 17.
Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik will carry Malaysia’s challenge in the men’s doubles, while Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei will challenge the top pairs in the mixed doubles category. – December 4, 2023