Lee Chong Wei: Give Jonassen time to rebuild Malaysia's men's singles squad
The Malaysian badminton legend said Jonassen, who has only been in the role for six months, needs time to adapt and rebuild the strength of a men's singles line-up that is currently in a critical state.
'I've met and spoken with him (Jonassen) about how he can contribute to men's singles in Malaysia. He has great ideas and I agree with his proposals and plans. We just can't expect instant results because this isn't a one-month or one-year process.
'At the very least, one full cycle — four years — is needed before we can gauge the effectiveness of his plans. Give him room to adapt to the local culture and to rebuild the team. It's like a newborn child – even learning to walk takes a year, let alone producing a world champion,' he said.
He was speaking to reporters after receiving the Darjah Gemilang Pangkuan Negeri (DGPN) award, which carries the title Datuk Seri, from the Yang Dipertua Negeri of Penang, Tun Ramli Ngah Talib, in conjunction with the 84th birthday celebration of the Penang Governor, here today.
Lee, 43, was responding to a newspaper report quoting former national coach Wong Tat Meng, who warned that Malaysia could face a singles crisis if immediate action isn't taken to address the weaknesses in the country's youth player development system.
Wong, 58, gave this stern warning after witnessing the underwhelming performance of Malaysia's junior squad at the 2025 Badminton Asia Junior Championships (BAJC) in Solo, Indonesia, recently.
Commenting further, Lee said the current state of the men's singles is worrying, with a significant gap between Malaysian players and the world's top contenders.
Lee said only Lee Zii Jia currently shows potential, having recently returned from injury, while Ng Tze Yong is undergoing treatment in Doha.
'We only have Lee Zii Jia, who's just recovered from injury, and Ng Tze Yong, who is still undergoing treatment in Doha. Their performances are still inconsistent, and the same goes for Leong Jun Hao, whose form has been up and down,' he said. — Bernama
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Straits Times
8 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Former All England champ Hafiz takes on Saudi Arabia coaching role
KUALA LUMPUR: Former All England champion Hafiz Hashim will embark on a bold new challenge in Saudi Arabia — a country better known for football than feathered shuttles. The 41-year-old has signed a one-year deal to become the kingdom's national elite coach and will fly to Dammam, where he'll be based, on Wednesday. Despite Saudi Arabia's modest badminton profile, Hafiz sees this as a long-term development project rather than a quick fix. "I love player development, and I understand it takes time," said Hafiz. "Every place has its challenges, but I see this as a chance to help raise the level — improve the players' style, results and world rankings." His task won't be easy. Hafiz will be responsible for all departments — juniors, seniors, men and women — and must design a full annual programme for the entire national squad. "Technically, my contract started on Aug 1, but due to a visa issue, I'll only be flying out on Wednesday," he added. "It's a one-year deal with an option to renew." Hafiz recently wrapped up his stint at the Suchitra Badminton Academy in Hyderabad, where he coached from February 2023 until his contract ended in May 2025. He also worked with India's Olympic silver medallist and former world champion P.V. Sindhu from July to December last year. Prior to that, he spent several years with the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM), focusing on youth development. At present, Saudi Arabia's top men's singles player is world No. 225 Mahd Shaikh, while Khadijah Kawthar leads the women's rankings at No. 256. None of the country's doubles pairs — men's, women's or mixed — are ranked inside the top 400. "It's too early to set ranking targets as I haven't started working with them yet," said Hafiz.
The Star
9 hours ago
- The Star
Herry sees Roy King-Arif's grit en route to first Open title timely ahead of worlds
Wan Arif Wan Junaidi and Yap Roy King. - Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM). PETALING JAYA: Staying patient under a tough situation certainly paid dividends for men's doubles pair Yap Roy King-Wan Arif Wan Junaidi at the Macau Open as they walked away with their maiden World Tour crown. In a final marred by a leaking roof and constant court stoppages, Roy King-Arif pulled off a stunning 22-20, 21-18 win over Indonesia's world No. 8 Sabar Gutama-Moh Reza to end their title wait at the Macau East Asian Games Dome yesterday. They braved slippery conditions and relentless delays to come through the test with flying colours. And that brought much delight to the men's doubles head coach Herry Iman Pierngadi. "It was not a good game to watch as there were breaks after just one or two points to mop the floor due to the leaking," said Herry. "It definitely disrupted the flow of the game but I told Roy King-Arif to keep their focus and stay patient. "It was a tough situation out there and I'm happy that our pair managed to get the win and grab their first title this year." Sabar-Moh started as the favourites but Roy King-Arif showed great determination and fighting spirit to come back from 18-20 to win the first game narrowly. In the second game, the Malaysians again pulled off an impressive comeback from 9-13 to come away with the victory. It was sweet revenge for Roy King-Arif after losing to Sabar-Moh in the Spain Masters final last year. Ending their title drought in the World Tour comes as a huge relief and a timely boost for Roy King-Arif especially with the pair set to make their debuts in the World Championships from Aug 25-31 in Paris. "Winning their first World Tour title will give Roy King-Arif more confidence heading into the world meet," said Herry. "This is a good achievement for them as their rankings also should go up and this will give them a better seeding in Paris." Roy King-Arif are expected to break into the world's top 20 when the official rankings list are released tomorrow. The seedings for the world meet will be revealed on Friday while the draw will be out on Aug 13. The other Malaysian men's doubles pairs, who have qualified for the prestigious meet are world No. 2 Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, world No. 4 independent duo Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani and Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun (No. 7). Meanwhile, mixed doubles pair Jimmy Wong-Lai Pei Jing could not crown their surprise run to the final in Macau with the title after going down 13-21, 16-21 to Denmark's Mathias Christiansen-Alexandra Boje. Jimmy-Pei Jing though can be proud of their efforts after making it into the title match in their maiden World Tour outing. FINAL RESULTS (Malaysians unless stated) Men's singles: Alwi Farhan (Ina) bt Justin Hoh 21-15, 21-5. Men's doubles: Yap Roy King-Wan Arif Junaidi bt Sabar Gutama-Moh Reza (Ina) 22-20, 21-18. Women's singles: Chen Yufei (Chn) bt Line Christophersen (Den) 21-17, 21-17. Women's doubles: Hsieh Pei-shan-Hung En-tzu (Tpe) bt Kaho Osawa-Mai Tanabe (Jpn) 21-18, 21-12. Mixed doubles: Mathias Christiansen-Alexandra Boje (Den) bt Jimmy Wong-Lai Pei Jing 21-13, 21-16.
Malay Mail
11 hours ago
- Malay Mail
After 25 years and countless moves, Malaysia finally gets its first chess Grandmaster
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 3 — For the first time in the nation's history, Malaysia can proudly call one of its own a Grandmaster (GM), the highest title awarded in the world of chess. Yeoh Li Tian, a 25-year-old prodigy from Petaling Jaya, officially earned the coveted GM title after securing his third norm and surpassing the 2500 FIDE rating mark by winning the GM-IM Invitational Chess Championship 2025 held here today. The title, awarded by the International Chess Federation (FIDE), is a lifelong honour and places Li Tian among an elite group of fewer than 2,000 Grandmasters worldwide. Speaking to Bernama, Li Tian, who began playing chess at the age of three, admitted that his journey was long and grueling, marked by sacrifices and perseverance. 'I always tell people that I have no childhood. So I guess that that will be my biggest sacrifice. Since young, like even in primary school, I go to school, come back, do my homework and then I start working on chess,' he said. When asked about achieving the GM title on home soil, he said the moment was even more meaningful after narrowly missing the opportunity during the 2022 SEA Games in Hanoi. 'I felt really relieved and happy to actually get my last norm back in Malaysia. I hope that it inspires more chess players to play chess,' he added. Looking ahead, Li Tian remains uncertain about his next steps but hinted that he might compete in the upcoming SEA Games in Thailand at the end of this year. 'Malaysia Chess Federation (MCF) already approached me for this SEA Games. I think there's a high chance that I will be playing,' he said. Meanwhile, MCF President Akhramsyah Muammar Ubaidah Sanusi described Li Tian's achievement as a historic milestone in the nation's chess history. He added that the MCF is now more determined than ever to nurture and produce more Malaysian GM, with the goal of elevating and strengthening the local chess scene. 'I feel the achievement is a new positive and healthy development for the game of chess in the country. 'We do not want this achievement to stop here and if can, we want more GM from Malaysia to emerge, just like ehat has been produced by neighbouring countries like Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines,' he said. — Bernama
