PETALING JAYA: Women’s singles shuttlers K. Letshanaa and Wong Ling Ching will have just two tournaments to sharpen up before the World Championships in New Delhi from Aug 17-23.
Both players will compete in the Japan Open from July 14-19 before heading to the China Open in Changzhou a week later from July 21-26.
Women’s singles coach Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin believes that will be sufficient, with the focus now on improving their performances rather than packing their schedule with more tournaments.
Letshanaa will be facing South Korea’s Kim Ga-eun in the opening round, while Ling Ching will take on former world No. 1 P.V. Sindhu of India.
It will be their third meeting, with their most recent clash coming in the first round of the Asian Championships in Ningbo in April.
Ling Ching came close to pulling off an upset before eventually going down in three games.
“These two tournaments are enough because they need to get used to competing against the world’s best and change their mindset.
“After the Japan and China Opens, we’ll assess their performances and step up training.
“We’ll identify any weaknesses from their matches against the top players and work on them.
“They can no longer go into tournaments just thinking about ranking points.
“I don’t mind if they lose to the top players, as long as they put up a fight and stick to our game plan.
“To reach that level, they need to have a strong mentality,” said Iskandar.
At last year’s World Championships in Paris, Letshanaa reached the second round before bowing out after pushing Sindhu in a hard-fought match.
Ling Ching, meanwhile, will be making her debut at the prestigious tournament.
Iskandar believes it is crucial for both players to have the right mindset, as he does not want them to head to the World Championships merely to make up the numbers.
“I don’t want them to suffer an early exit, and I don’t want them going there just to make up the numbers.
“They must have the confidence and belief that they can take on whoever they draw,” he added.
