PETALING JAYA: No pressure, just go out there and fight.
That is the message from Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) president Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz to the national juniors ahead of the World Junior Championships in Cairo, which begin next Tuesday.
Zafrul took time to meet some of the players before the squad leave for Cairo on Friday and offered them some words of encouragement.
"Fast, focused and really serious once they step onto the court. These are the youngsters who will carry Malaysia’s name onto the world stage.
"I dropped by to meet some of the national junior squad who will be competing at the World Junior Championships in Cairo, Egypt.
"Some have already made a name for themselves at the Asian level, while others will be gaining their first experience on the world stage.
"I don’t want to put any extra pressure on them. I only told them one thing: go there, play your best, enjoy the experience and fly the Jalur Gemilang proudly.
"All the best in Cairo. The whole of Malaysia will be hoping for a successful campaign," Zafrul said on social media.
Malaysia will field four boys’ singles players in Tiew Wei Jie, Lim Boon Le, Chong Lee Qian and Kong Wei Xiang, who was also selected for the recent Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
The girls’ singles line-up comprises Carine Tee, Lee Kay Xin, Teoh Sue Mei and Saidatul Saadiah Mohamad, the Bukit Jalil Sports School (SSBJ) player who recently won the national Under-18 title in Kedah.
Asian junior champion Zulwaqqarizal Ahmad is also in the squad alongside Low Zi Yu and Genevie Lim.
The rest of the team are Isyraf Hafizin Ibrahim, Shazmir Irfan Shahrul, Damiel Ling, Khashah Khairul Azlan, Iqbal Yusuf, Teh Xin Ying, Rachel Tan, Leong Hwee Ling and Nur Aina Maisarah Hatta.
The team event begins on Tuesday, with Malaysia drawn alongside Austria, Algeria, Turkiye, South Africa and Sri Lanka.
Only the group winners will advance to the quarter-finals.
The individual competition will then take place from Oct 12-17.
