Rosman stays put to produce women's doubles champs
Great show: Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah in action against China's Li Jiying-Luo Xumin during their semi-final match at the Indonesian Open. — AP
PETALING JAYA: National women's doubles head coach Rosman Razak is not planning to jump ship but will stick with the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) until the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.
Rosman is fully aware of his task and he aims to remain firm in his objective of guiding all the shuttlers under his care until 2028 regardless of any decision made by his players to turn professional. Currently, his top pair and world No. 3 Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah have yet to sign a contract with the BA of Malaysia and there is a possibility that they could turn independent.
Rosman is not letting his charges' ongoing unresolved contract distract him from his task at hand.
'Whatever the outcome of Pearly-Thinaah's contracts, I can't afford to think about this as it will affect me too,' said Rosman after overseeing a training session at the Academy Badminton Malaysia (ABM) in Bukit Kiara yesterday.
'I don't know the future but as long as they are training under me, I will do my best to guide them and keep working hard towards the biggest goal which is the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
'BAM hired me for this and my responsibility is not just towards Pearly-Thinaah but also the other women's doubles pairs in the team.'
Despite the contract issue, Rosman did well to guide Pearly-Thinaah to a runners-up finish in the recent Indonesian Open.
The pair made it into their first ever World Tour Super 1000 final before going down fighting 25-23, 12-21, 19-21 to China's world No. 1 Liu Shengshu-Tan Ning.
'Pearly-Thinaah did not win the title but I'm happy with their performance in this tournament,' said Rosman.
'It's a good breakthrough for them and also a boost for the entire women's doubles department. I hope they can maintain their form.
'For me, it's normal for players to go through ups and downs. We need to support them more when they are struggling than when they are winning.'
Pearly-Thinaah will next compete in the back-to-back Japan Open (July 15-20) and China Open (July 22-27).
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