PETALING JAYA: Malaysia did not send a women’s team at the last Asian Games because they were considered weak and out of depth.
But all that could change with the recent encouraging performance of the team at the Uber Cup Finals.
Led by skipper M. Thinaah, the national side ended Malaysia’s 16-year wait to reach the Uber Cup quarter-finals in Horsens, Denmark and that could lead the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) to consider sending them back to the team event at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games from Sept 19 to Oct 4.
Although they went down 0-3 to powerhouse China in the last eight, the players showed strong fighting spirit against higher-ranked opponents.
Women’s doubles head coach Rosman Razak was pleased with the progress shown by the players.
“I think there is some progress. It is good progress, but we still have a long way to go,” said Rosman.
Almost all the players, especially in the doubles, were making their debut in the competition but still delivered encouraging results.
For instance, Ong Xin Yee initially struggled after forming a scratch partnership with Thinaah, but regained her rhythm when reunited with regular partner Carmen Ting.
The pair then pushed world No. 1 Liu Shengshu–Tan Ning to three games before going down in the quarter-finals.
Similarly, Low Zi Yu–Noraqilah Maisarah Ramdan stunned world No. 7 pair Rin Iwanaga–Kie Nakanishi in the final Group B tie.
The two young pairs stepped up after Malaysia were without Pearly Tan at the last minute due to injury.
“They fought all the way even though our level is still far behind. But they showed very good fighting spirit, especially the two young pairs. I am happy with that,” said Rosman.
To build on that momentum, Rosman believes they must be given the right exposure.
Although he did not specify which tournaments they will feature in, the Asian Games in four months could serve as another platform for the players, as Malaysia have not competed in the event since Jakarta-Palembang 2018 and Hangzhou 2022.
“I think the transition is always like this because they will face stronger pairs.
“In that process, there will be wins and losses and ups and downs. But we must give full support and continue to provide exposure so they can handle whatever situations come in the future,” added Rosman.
