Gelling well: Loo Bing Kun has been paired with Toh Ee Wei and they have shown encouraging performances. — BAM
PETALING JAYA: National mixed doubles coach Nova Widianto is casting a wider net and that includes eyeing women’s doubles players in his bid to form new and formidable pairings.
With a lack of quality options in the current mixed doubles pool, Nova is now considering players from the women’s doubles squad under coach Rosman Razak as potential partners for his male shuttlers.
Among the names on Nova’s radar is Go Pei Kee, who is currently partnering Teoh Mei Xing in the women’s doubles.
At present, Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei and Hoo Pang Ron-Cheng Su Yin remain the only established pairs in the national team. Nova, however, is set to continue reshuffling the other combinations until he finds a strong line-up.
“I’ve spoken to Rexy (Mainaky), the coaching director, and the management about this. I want to try out all the players, so there’s no fixed partnership for now.
“We’ll keep looking. If we can’t form four solid pairs, even two will be enough. I want to keep mixing things up to assess the players’ real character. You can’t fully see that during training. It only comes out in tournament situations when their mental strength is put to the test.
“Rosman is also supportive of this idea. We have Pei Kee, and maybe even (Cheng) Su Hui or Vanee (Gobi),” said Nova.
Nova is currently experimenting with two new combinations pairing Loo Bing Kun with Toh Ee Wei, and Chen Tang Jie with Chan Wen Tse and both pairs have shown encouraging performances at this week’s Taiwan Open.
In fact, Nova believes Bing Kun has the potential to become a key figure in the mixed doubles squad. But to take his game to the next level, the player can no longer afford to compete only in lower-tier tournaments.
“This is a valuable experience for both Bing Kun and Wen Tse. It gives them a chance to gauge their level in the senior ranks and assess themselves. For me, as long as they can enjoy the match without pressure, that’s already a good start.
“Bing Kun is no longer young, and I don’t want him to remain stuck in International Challenge-level tournaments. He should at least be playing in Super 300 events, or at the very least, Super 100, to see if he can reach his full potential.
“I don’t think he’ll be reunited with his previous partner Ho Lo Ee. He will be given a new partner moving forward, and the same goes for Lo Ee, who might even compete in two events,” Nova added.
