PETALING JAYA: National women’s doubles head coach Rosman Razak sees no reason to reshuffle the existing partnerships in his squad despite calls for changes in the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM).
This means Carmen Ting-Ong Xin Yee, the country’s second-ranked pair behind Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah, will remain together, while Low Zi Yu will continue her partnership with Noraqilah Maisarah Ramdan.
Carmen-Xin Yee have struggled to make an impact this year, prompting suggestions that a change of partners, possibly involving Zi Yu, could help revive their fortunes.
The calls have come amid a series of changes in the men’s doubles squad, where head coach Herry Iman Pierngadi has been experimenting with new combinations in search of stronger partnerships.
However, Rosman believes adopting a similar approach would not necessarily produce the same results for the women’s doubles squad, given the limited pool of players at his disposal.
Unlike the men’s doubles department, which boasts a wider range of experienced players, Rosman feels his younger charges still need time to develop their skills and gain more international exposure before any major changes can be considered.
“For the women’s doubles, I think the situation is slightly different. Apart from Pearly-Thinaah, the other players were exposed to international competitions at a young age.
“Although their progress may seem rather stagnant when we compare their performances, we have to understand that they are still relatively new to the international scene.
“If you look at my squad, the second, third and fourth pairs are all around the same age. They are still young, and in terms of experience, physical strength and individual ability, they still have a lot of room for improvement.
“It is different in the men’s doubles, where they have a much wider pool of players to choose from. In the women’s doubles, our options are more limited,” said Rosman.
Rosman is also reluctant to risk splitting up the existing pairs, as any new combination would have to start from scratch, especially with the qualification period for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics set to begin next April.
He is determined to have two women’s doubles pairs qualify for the Games.
“There may be some possibilities to make changes, but for now, I don’t think splitting up the existing pairs would make much of a difference.
“For example, I have no intention of splitting up Zi Yu and Aqilah because they are doing well together.
“Even if we were to consider pairing them with other players, the gap in ability is still quite significant.
“So, for the time being, I don’t see a need to make any changes,” said Rosman.
Carmen-Xin Yee, both 20, have struggled to make an impact this season, suffering early exits in nearly all of their 18 BWF World Tour tournaments, with their best result being a semi-final appearance at the Macau Open in June.
Meanwhile, Zi Yu’s versatility has made her an attractive option for a possible reshuffle, having recently won the world junior doubles title with Genevie Lim and shown her ability to perform well with different partners, including in mixed doubles.
