Women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan–M. Thinaah may head into the Indonesia Masters as favourites on paper, but national doubles coaching director Rexy Mainaky has cautioned that success in Jakarta will not come easily. Rexy stressed that the immediate focus for the world No. 2 pair is not the title itself, but rediscovering their confidence as…
Lee Zii Jia will press on with his search for form at the Indonesia Masters, which begins on Wednesday, while national teammate Leong Jun Hao has been forced to withdraw from the Super 500 tournament due to influenza. Zii Jia Eyes Turnaround After Slow Start The former world champion, who recently made his competitive return…
The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) has played down speculation that Malaysia could step in to host the Badminton World Championships this year, amid growing concerns over India’s suitability as the tournament host. The World Championships are scheduled to take place in New Delhi from Aug 17–23, but issues during the ongoing Indian Open have…
The struggling form of independent men’s doubles pair Goh Sze Fei–Nur Izzuddin Rumsani has sparked growing concern, leaving many questioning the sudden decline of the former world No. 1 duo. Their woes continued at the Indian Open yesterday, where they suffered another early exit after losing 14-21, 21-17, 14-21 to Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei–Yang Po-hsuan in…
National men’s doubles pair Aaron Chia–Soh Wooi Yik advanced to the second round of the Indian Open, while it was the end of the road for teammates Yap Roy King–Wan Arif Wan Junaidi. The world No. 2 duo were leading 21-12, 11-6 against junior teammates Aaron Tai–Kang Khai Xing when the match was halted after…
Academy Badminton Malaysia (ABM) has opened its training courts to some of the world’s top shuttlers, a move national singles coach Kenneth Jonassen believes is already helping raise standards — especially in terms of consistency. Over the past two weeks, ABM has welcomed a strong lineup of elite international players, turning daily training sessions into…
Malaysia’s men’s singles campaign at the Indian Open came to an early end after Leong Jun Hao was forced to retire from his first-round match against Japan’s Yushi Tanaka due to illness. The 26-year-old shuttler struggled from the start, losing the opening game 5-21 before trailing 3-8 in the second. He eventually withdrew from the…
World No. 3 Anders Antonsen has clarified his decision to withdraw from the ongoing India Open Super 750 in New Delhi, citing concerns over the city’s deteriorating air quality. The Danish shuttler, a four-time BWF World Championships medalist, broke his silence on Wednesday after pulling out of the tournament for the third consecutive year. Antonsen…
When the Crowd Becomes the Verdict The men’s doubles final arrived like a verdict, and the stadium answered with a gale. Rattles and drums pounded the aisles. Feet stomped in time. Voices rose, fell, then surged again. You heard the crowd before you saw it. The sound made the match feel like more than a…
The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) is set to move away from its long-standing approach of assigning coaches to only one or two players, replacing it with a rotation-based coaching system aimed at addressing weaknesses in player development. National coaching director Kenneth Jonassen said the new structure will allow players to work with different coaches…