PETALING JAYA: Women’s singles shuttler K. Letshanaa should not be daunted even though her first round opponent at the Korean Open today is none other than world No. 1 An Se-young of South Korea.
National singles coaching director Kenneth Jonassen knows the clash is a mismatch given the gulf in class and quality between Letshanaa and Se-young, and admits it will be an uphill task to overcome the South Korean ace.
But that does not mean Letshanaa should be waving the white flag before stepping onto court.
Instead, Jonassen has urged her to seize the opportunity as a platform to learn from a world-class player and try to put up a fight against Se-young, who clinched the China Masters in Shenzhen last week, which marked her seventh title of the season.
“Going into a tournament where you’re playing the world number one, the mindset on how to approach a match like this is very important,” said Jonassen.
“Of course, you need to have the belief that you can challenge, but challenging doesn’t necessarily mean you will come out on top.
“It’s about how you approach each rally and how you deal with the quality coming from the other side of the court.
“Obviously, An Se-young is extremely talented. She’s in form and just won last week, so we know the level.
“What I’m looking at is how she responds to that quality and how she can carry out her own game plan while handling the level of shots coming back from the other side,” added Jonassen.
This will be Letshanaa’s second meeting with Se-young after two years, the first being in the Sudirman Cup semi-finals in Suzhou, and facing the South Korean star at this stage can be intimidating.
