PETALING JAYA: National women’s singles coach Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin is optimistic about the future of his charges, insisting the squad are stronger than many believe.
And he now aims to help them develop “dangerous weapons” to match the world’s top players.
Iskandar’s optimism stems from the encouraging performance of Wong Ling Ching, who finished runner-up at the Malaysia Super 100 in Iskandar Puteri, Johor, two weeks ago.
On her way to the final against former world champion Nozomi Okuhara, Ling Ching took down several seeded players, including Thailand’s second seed Pornpicha Choeikeewong, eighth seed Isharani Baruah and another Thai, fourth seed Pitchamon Opatniputh.
The Sarawakian shuttler also put up a strong fight in the final before Okuhara’s experience and quality proved decisive, denying her a maiden title.
Iskandar said that apart from physical conditioning, he also wants his players to be tactically sharp as modern badminton is no longer just about power and endurance.
"Of course, we will focus more on tactics and the techniques needed in our game. For example, when facing a player like Okuhara, we must know how to stop her with the right shots and have our own effective weapons. I want the players to understand better how to win points against stable and experienced opponents like her.
"We also need to build up their confidence by constantly communicating with them so they don’t feel inferior. They already have the level needed to compete, but sometimes they hold themselves back instead of pushing forward," said Iskandar.
Therefore, Iskandar believes the most important thing right now is to give his players time to grow and improve their world rankings.
At the moment, besides Ling Ching, there are six other players in the national women’s singles squad - Siti Zulaikha Azmi, K. Letshanaa, Oo Shan Zi, Eng Ler Qi, Lim Zhi Shin and Shaneesa Shahidi.
“This is definitely a long process. Our players are still young — most of them are around 21 or 22, and some are just 19. So I feel we need to give them time to develop and climb up the rankings. Once they have better rankings, then we can start pushing them to compete in bigger tournaments,” he said.
