PETALING JAYA: The appointment of Dane Kenneth Jonassen as the new national singles head coach is a positive move.
Women’s singles coach Jeffer Rosobin is happy to have Kenneth join the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) and believes this is a boost to the singles teams.
Kenneth is set to lead the men and women’s singles teams and will officially start work on Jan 4.
“We are all happy to have Kenneth join BAM. We welcome him to the team,” said Jeffer, who was promoted from junior head coach to guide the senior women’s singles last month.
“I think this is a boost for the singles teams. Both coaches and players are all motivated to do well with Kenneth.”
Besides Jeffer, Kenneth will also be working with Misbun Ramdan and men’s singles coaches K. Yogendran and Alvin Chew.
The 50-year-old was head coach for the Danish national team for 11 years before leaving his position this year.
Kenneth has been tasked with raising the standards of the singles players in BAM.
Currently, Leong Jun Hao, Justin Hoh, Ng Tze Yong and Eogene Ewe are in the men’s singles team while the women’s singles players are K. Letshanaa, Wong Ling Ching, Siti Zulaikha Azmi and Oo Shan Zi.
A few junior players are also expected to be promoted to the senior team at the end of this year.
Kenneth will share his plans with the media in a press conference at the Academy Badminton Malaysia (ABM) in Bukit Kiara today.
Meanwhile, Justin and Letshanaa will compete in their last tournament of the year in the World Tour Super 300 Syed Modi International starting tomorrow in Lucknow.
Justin will take on homester Mithun Manjunath in the first round while Letshanaa will face China’s Dai Wang.
Both players will be out to end their year with a positive showing.
Jeffer has urged Letshanaa to build on her performance in the Super 100 Indonesian Masters earlier this month where she finished runner’s up.
“Letshanaa’s preparations for this tournament has been good. Hopefully, she can bring out her best performance,” said Jeffer.
