PETALING JAYA: K. Letshanaa is looking forward to making her debut in the Sudirman Cup from May 14-21 in Suzhou.
The prestigious team event will be the 19-year-old’s biggest tournament since re-joining the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) last month.
“I’m happy to be part of this biggest tournament for me since returning to BAM again. I don’t want to let my coaches and teammates down,” said the Uganda International Challenge winner.
The other women’s singles player selected is world No. 33 Goh Jin Wei.
Letshanaa’s last big tournament was the 2021 Uber Cup in Aarhus, Denmark, when she was only 17 years old.
The team event was her second last tournament as a national player before she was forced to quit and turn professional due to a persistent back injury.
Letshanaa only returned to competitive action last October but had steadily worked her way up the rankings to a career high No. 76 in the world recently.
Now, Letshanaa is determined to keep climbing up the rankings and believes that competing in the Sudirman Cup will give her a boost in individual tournaments as well.
“To be honest, my physical condition was not that good when I played in Thailand and Vietnam as I was still getting used to the intensity of training under coach James (Chua),” said Letshanaa.
She did not get past the early rounds in both the International Challenge tournaments last month.
“Training on my own was really different and I wasn’t mentally prepared.
“Outside, I could adjust the intensity myself as I was training under my father and brother but here at BAM, I have to cope and I’m forced to follow, so my body was not ready for the high intensity.
“Now, I’ve adapted better and things are going well,” added Letshanaa, who hopes to break into the top 50 in the world.
