PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s coaching set-up has less than two weeks to get the national badminton squad back on track after a disappointing Asian Championships outing as they gear up for the Thomas Cup in Horsens, Denmark, from April 24-May 3.
Malaysia endured a frustrating campaign, returning empty-handed for the first time in seven years since 2019 after all representatives were eliminated in Ningbo, China, before the semi-final stage including defending men’s doubles champions Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik.
More worrying was the men’s doubles department, which has been a consistent medal contributor since the 2022 edition in Manila, failing to deliver this time.
The outcome has raised concerns over Malaysia’s readiness as they aim to end a 34-year wait to reclaim the Thomas Cup, last won in 1992.
However, national doubles coaching director Rexy Mainaky is staying calm and stressed that the immediate priority is to rebuild the players’ confidence, especially those involved in the team event.
“For now, we just want to focus on boosting their motivation to bounce back,” said Rexy.
Reflecting on the defeats suffered by Malaysia’s three quarter-finalists at the Asian Championships, Rexy admitted that they fell short on several aspects.
Mixed doubles pair Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei suffered a shock 19-21, 17-21 loss to world No. 147 pair Kim Jae-hyeon-Jang Ha-jeong.
Women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah also went down 13-21, 15-21 to China’s Li Yijing-Luo Xumin while Aaron-Wooi Yik, Malaysia’s last remaining representatives, lost 19-21, 28-26, 13-21 to South Korea’s Kang Min-hyuk-Ki Dong-ju.
“Today (Friday), the Koreans played very well and made very few errors. Their attacking play and rotation were better.
“As for Pearly and Thinaah, their game since Thursday (second round) has been too passive. Their attack and rotation need to improve. They relied too much on individual play. Their strength is aggressive attacking and rotation but that was missing in this tournament.
“As for Tang Jie and Ee Wei, Tang Jie was completely out of sorts. Nothing worked for him,” added Rexy.
