Additional aid: Veteran doubles coach Muhammad Miftakh (inset) will help fine-tune Pearly Tan (left) and M. Thinaah’s play in the BAM set-up.
PETALING JAYA: Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah’s preparations for the Paris Olympics received a shot in the arm with the addition of a new coach from Indonesia, Muhammad Miftakh in the coaching panel for women’s doubles department.
Miftakh was appointed by the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) to fill the void left by the former coach Lee Meng Yean and to assist the current head coach Hoon Thien How.
Meng Yean, who initially took on the role of women’s doubles coach in February 2022 before being repositioned as junior coach in August last year, has parted ways with BAM and embarked on her professional coaching career with CPS Badminton in November.
National director of coaching Rexy Mainaky is confident that Miftakh’s extensive experience, particularly his role as a reliable assistant to the head coach of Indian team, Mathias Boe of Denmark, will play a significant role in elevating the performance of the national women’s doubles team.
“Miftakh began his duties on Thursday and will serve as an assistant coach to the women’s team,” said Rexy.
“His presence is a positive development based on his vast experience. He has been with the Indian badminton squad for a long time. Previously, he was an assistant to Tan Kim Her, Flandy Limpele, and Mathias.
“Mathias has shown great faith in him, entrusting all programmes to Miftakh, including managing the pairing of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty (the world’s top men’s doubles pair).
“So, I believe he will be able to assist Thien How in enhancing the performance of the national women’s team players, especially Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah, in their preparation for the Paris Olympic Games.”
Miftakh also played a crucial role in the success of the Indian badminton squad, contributing to their historic victory in the Thomas Cup in 2022.
Miftakh’s inclusion in the national set-up showed that BAM continued to place their faith on Indonesian expertise.
The four other Indonesian coaches within the set-up are Rexy, men’s singles coach Hendrawan, mixed doubles coach Nova Widianto and junior head coach Jeffer Rosobin.
