Experts in their fields: Kenneth Jonassen (left) will be in charge of the singles while Rexy Mainaky will be overseeing the doubles department.
Decision to get new women’s singles coach lies entirely with director Dane
KUALA LUMPUR: The decision on whether the women’s singles squad will get a new coach lies entirely with singles director Kenneth Jonassen, who is now fully in charge of the national singles set-up.
The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) have tasked Jonassen with overseeing the entire development of the singles squad, including selecting a replacement for Jeffer Rosobin, who resigned on Feb 28.
This move also aims to ease the workload of Rexy Mainaky, who will now focus solely on the doubles events.
While several candidates have been shortlisted, if Jonassen determines that a new appointment is unnecessary, the women’s players will continue training under Misbun Ramdan, with Jonassen overseeing their progress.
The women’s singles squad currently consist of six players, led by K. Letshanaa, Wong Ling Ching, Siti Zulaikha Azmi, Lim Zhi Sin, Eng Ler Qi and Oo Shan Zi.
“Yes, maybe, maybe not, but it’s very likely. It all depends on the needs. We also discussed this yesterday (Monday), but nothing has been finalised yet.
“It will take about a week or so to reach a conclusion on several matters. Ultimately, it all depends on Jonassen’s directive, as he is the head of the department,” said BAM acting president, Datuk V. Subramaniam.
At the same time, Subramaniam explained that the division of responsibilities is part of BAM’s efforts to streamline the coaching department and enhance efficiency, leveraging Jonassen’s expertise in singles and Rexy’s vast experience in doubles.
This structural change is not entirely new, as Rexy previously oversaw the progress of doubles players when he rejoined BAM in 2021, working alongside Wong Choong Hann, who was then the coaching director in charge of the singles department.
“So, with Rexy overseeing the doubles and Jonassen in charge of singles, both are experts in their respective fields.
“I believe Jonassen is fully capable of handling the singles department, and we must place our trust in him. At the same time, we want to ease Rexy’s workload so he can focus entirely on the doubles sector,” he added.
