Jonassen feels the heat after Malaysia Masters whitewash
KUALA LUMPUR: Pressure has always been part of national singles coaching director Kenneth Jonassen's job, and it was no different this week as his charges once again failed to deliver on home soil.
The Dane admitted it was tough to watch all his players crash out in the first round of the Malaysia Masters, following a similar outcome at the Malaysia Open in January.
World No. 25 Leong Jun Hao, Justin Hoh (world No. 45), Ng Tze Yong (No. 239) and women's world No. 51 K. Letshanaa all suffered early exits, leaving Jonassen frustrated but focused on the bigger picture.
"I always feel the pressure because I want to see my shuttlers win," said Jonassen.
"My job is to find the positives, even in defeat, and move on.
"Of course I'm disappointed. We don't like to lose, especially when the players don't fully capitalise on the opportunities created on court."
Despite the setbacks, Jonassen insists he will stick to their long-term development goals.
"We always make minor adjustments when we learn something new, but we don't stray from our development path. That's how you grow and move forward."
The biggest concern now is Tze Yong, who is in a precarious situation after suffering a knee injury against Hong Kong's Angus Ng on Wednesday.
The 24-year-old — still searching for his first win since returning from two back surgeries — took the opening game 22-20 and was leading 4-3 in the second before limping off court.
His participation in next week's Singapore Open is now in serious doubt.
"I can't comment yet on the extent of the injury," said Jonassen.
"But I'd say this was his best level since the comeback. He was playing aggressively.
"It's one of the worst things to see a player walk off with an injury."
Jun Hao, meanwhile, was carrying a minor elbow injury and struggled in his 10-21, 21-18, 21-9 defeat to Ireland's Nhat Nguyen (world No. 33).
Justin also found the going tough against Japan's world No. 8 Kodai Naraoka, falling 21-14, 22-20.
Letshanaa showed fight but was edged by China's world No. 48 Han Qian Xi 10-21, 21-18, 21-9.
"Jun Hao lacked consistency in the second and third games, and at this level you can't let your opponent take control," said Jonassen.
"I've never seen Justin this tense before, but that's normal in your first big tournament.He gave everything in the second game, but Naraoka's experience proved decisive."
On Letshanaa, Jonassen added: "She did everything right but hit a wall, which can happen when the desire to win becomes too overwhelming. It's a lesson she'll learn from."
Jonassen will continue monitoring Jun Hao's progress in training over the next two days before deciding whether to allow him to play in the Singapore Open.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
3 hours ago
- The Sun
May be tough for Tze Yong to regain old form after ACL setback
KUALA LUMPUR: The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury sustained by national men's singles shuttler Ng Tze Yong may well see him struggle to regain his old form, said former world number one Roslin Hashim. The ex-national shuttler also admitted that even before the ACL injury, Tze Yong's performances of late had been quite shaky since returning to action in April following a back injury. 'When Tze Yong sustained the lower back injury previously, he had to undergo surgery... now he has got an ACL injury (knee). These two lower parts of the body are extremely crucial to a shuttler. 'When he came back to action (after his lower back injury), his performance wasn't that stable either. At an age where he should be reaching his peak powers but, unfortunately, he has suffered another serious injury and his recovery this time will take a long time. So, it will be difficult for Tze Yong to regain his old form,' he told Bernama. The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) confirmed in a statement yesterday that Tze Yong suffered an ACL injury, with the 25-year-old shuttler also admitting to finding it hard to accept this latest injury blow after all the efforts he had put in to get back to action. BAM singles coaching director Kenneth Jonassen said Tze Yong, who may be sidelined for nine to 12 months, is currently undergoing prehabilitation (prehab) to strengthen the knee and the surrounding muscles ahead of the scheduled surgery for the ACL injury he sustained at the 2025 Malaysia Masters last month. Tze Yong has suffered various injuries, including a muscle tear in his back followed by a spinal injury since last year and underwent a long period of rest and rehabilitation before returning to action in the Badminton Asia Championship 2025 in Ningbo, China, in April. Despite his bleak assessment of Tze Yong's situation, Roslin, however, hopes the 2022 Commonwealth Games men's singles silver medallist possesses a burning desire and determination to fight back from adversity. 'I sympathise with Tze Yong, I hope he remains strong. If he intends to get back on the court, he will need every ounce of his inner strength and remain steadfast in facing this latest setback,' he said. Roslin, winner of the men's singles gold medal at the 2001 SEA Games, said the absence of the Johor-born Tze Yong, ranked 199 in the world, has also been a huge loss for the national camp. He admitted that Tze Yong is a player with huge potential, having once risen to as high as 14th in the world, and has the qualities required to be one of the world's top shuttlers. 'It's like we have lost a truly good player. We could see his potential as he won silver at the 2022 Commonwealth Games... unfortunately, injuries have curtailed his progress,' he said.
The Star
8 hours ago
- The Star
Pearly-Thinaah have chance to make Indonesia their ‘home'
Superior show: Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah knocked out Singapore Open runners-up Rin Iwanaga-Kie Nakanishi 21-6, 21-18 in 37 minutes. PETALING JAYA: National women's doubles shuttlers Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah have a chance to make Indonesia one of their favourite hunting grounds when they face off China's Li Yijing-Luo Xumin in the semi-finals at Istora Senayan. The world No. 4 Pearly-Thinaah made it to the last four in Jakarta yesterday after knocking out Singapore Open runners-up Rin Iwanaga-Kie Nakanishi 21-6, 21-18 in 37 minutes. The Malaysians have a chance to reach their second final this year at the same venue if they can beat the Chinese pair for the first time. They had lost to the world No. 6 pair at the China Open last year. Ironically, it was the Chinese pair's only title to date. Pearly-Thinaah also reached the final of the Indonesian Masters this year but were beaten by Kim Hye-jeong-Kong Hee-yong of South Korea. Thinaah did not want to think too far but prefer to focus on their recovery before the semis clash. 'We will discuss about our plans against the Chinese pair, have a good rest and eat well before the match,' said Thinaah. She, however, is happy that their strategy worked to the tee against the Japanese pair yesterday. 'The Japanese pair were in good form coming here after reaching the Singapore Open final but we were more focused on our strategy against them. It worked.' Pearly attributed their calm approach for their quite consistent form in the last four weeks. They had won the Thailand Open, reached the Malaysian Masters semi-finals before losing in the last eight of Singapore Open last week. 'We are quite happy with our form and hope to keep the momentum going. In the past weeks, we have learnt to be calm and I think, that's the key,' added Pearly.
New Straits Times
19 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Pearly-Thinaah hungry for more after ruthless quarter-final win
KUALA LUMPUR: A marathon battle was expected, but Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah had other ideas as they ruthlessly swept aside Japan's Rin Iwanaga-Kie Nakanishi to storm into the Indonesia Open semi-finals in Jakarta on Friday. The world No. 4 blew away the Japanese world No. 5 duo 21-6, 21-18 in just 37 minutes in their quarter-final clash at the Istora Senayan, sealing their maiden semi-final appearance at a Super 1000 event. Iwanaga-Nakanishi had arrived in Jakarta riding high after finishing runners-up at the Singapore Open last week, but were no match for the in-form Malaysians. "We followed our game plan and are happy with our performance today. We hope to continue this momentum," said Pearly after the one-sided win. "Our performance wasn't just based on confidence, but also our communication and ability to stay calm on court. These are things we've worked on over the last few tournaments." The Malaysians had previously endured tough encounters against Iwanaga-Nakanishi. At the French Open last October, Pearly-Thinaah came through a 102-minute semi-final marathon 21-19, 19-21, 26-24 before finishing runners-up to world No. 1s Lu Sheng Shu and Tan Ning of China. They clashed again a week later at the Denmark Open, where the Japanese pair avenged their defeat with a 52-minute 22-20, 21-19 win on the way to the Super 750 title. This time, however, Pearly-Thinaah left no room for drama. The Malaysians will be full of confidence heading into Saturday's semi-final against China's world No. 6 Li Yi Jing-Luo Xu Min. The Chinese pair beat Pearly-Thinaah in their only previous meeting at the China Open last year, but Thinaah is focused on the present. "We're not thinking too much about the semi-final. For now, we just want to reflect on today's match, rest, eat well and be ready," she said. Pearly-Thinaah are gunning for their first-ever Super 1000 final, and after Friday's clinical performance, they'll believe this could finally be their moment.
