Women's singles progress on the right track, says coach

The progress of Malaysian women's singles shuttlers K. Letshanaa and Wong Ling Ching is on the right track, but national singles coaching director Kenneth Jonassen urges them not to get ahead of themselves. He emphasizes a step-by-step approach, particularly for younger players, to avoid unnecessary pressure.

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The process that these women's singles players are going through needs to be taken step by step, and likewise for the young players, don't get too far ahead of yourselves and invite unwanted pressure.

Jonassen expressed satisfaction in helping players reach their potential, focusing on managing expectations to prevent them from rising too high or too quickly. Letshanaa recently caused an upset by defeating world No. 9 Tomoka Miyazaki of Japan in the Malaysia Masters 2026 before exiting in the quarterfinals. Ling Ching, however, was eliminated in the first round.

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What makes me happy is helping these players reach their potential. Now we just need to control that the expectations do not go up too high or too fast.

Despite mixed results in the tournament, both players have demonstrated improved performance lately, notably during the Uber Cup. Letshanaa now ranks 32nd globally, with Ling Ching at 33rd. This ranking allows Letshanaa to compete in major tournaments, and Jonassen wants her to manage her emotions and maintain discipline, acknowledging that breaking into the top 32 is a significant achievement.

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For the next six months, I want Letshanaa to remain resilient and accept that this is another opportunity for her to learn. Starting next week at the Super 750 (Singapore Open), we will build from there.

For the next six months, Jonassen wants Letshanaa to remain steadfast and view each opportunity as a learning experience. He plans to reassess goals with players after the upcoming Singapore and Indonesia Opens. Jonassen clarified that Letshanaa's victory over a top-10 player does not make her extraordinary but is part of a long-term process to develop her into a strong contender.

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In terms of goals, I think we will sit down and discuss after the next two tournaments, Singapore and Indonesia, then we will have time to look back. But it will not be done in a hurry.