PETALING JAYA: K. Letshanaa may have bowed out in the quarter-finals of the Taiwan Open, but her strong showing has provided a much-needed boost for Malaysia’s women’s singles camp.
Long seen as the weakest department in the national badminton set-up, the women’s singles have rarely generated excitement on the international stage in recent years.
But Letshanaa’s breakthrough performance in Taipei has offered a glimmer of hope, with the 22-year-old making it to her first Super 300 quarter-final.
Although her dream run ended against second seed Sim Yu-jin of South Korea, Letshanaa can hold her head high after giving the Asian Championships bronze medallist a tough fight.
Yu-jin, who also helped her country to a silver medal in the Sudirman Cup last week, was made to work for every point before sealing a 21-16, 13-21, 21-15 win in 54 minutes.
Letshanaa was encouraged by her performances and believes this tournament has been a turning point in her career.
“Lots of lessons learned from this tournament and plenty of positives to take away. Playing against better opponents and managing to beat some of them has boosted my confidence. Now, I just need to keep this momentum going,” she said when contacted.
“I’m very grateful to my coaches (Kenneth Jonassen and K. Yogendran) for their constant support and for guiding me step by step.
“This has been a good breakthrough for me,” added Letshanaa.
Letshanaa will next head to Bangkok for the Thailand Open, which gets under way on Tuesday.
She will have to go through the qualifying rounds and is set to face a fellow Malaysian, S. Kisona, in an all-Malaysian clash as she fights for a spot in the main draw.
