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The Star
14-07-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Shuttlers' dreams rise at Asian Juniors but coach keeps them on guard
PETALING JAYA: The recent fine performances of the junior shuttlers has raised hopes for a positive outing in the Asian Junior Championships but national junior doubles coach Pang Cheh Chang is remaining cautious of his charges' chances in the tournament starting on Friday in Solo, Indonesia. Girls' doubles pair Dania Sofea Zaidi-Low Zi Yu and mixed doubles duo Loh Ziheng-Noraqilah Maisarah Ramdan especially are heading into the Asian meet on a high after capturing titles in the Malaysian Junior International Challenge in Perlis last week. Dania-Zi Yu, who bagged silver in the world junior meet last year, are Malaysia's best bets for gold in Solo while Ziheng-Noraqilah have also enhanced their chances for at least a medal with their positive showing at home. Malaysia's other medal hopefuls are likely to be Dania and Datu Anif Asrah in the mixed doubles and Ziheng-Tan Zhi Yang in the boys' doubles after both pairs finished runners-up in Perlis. Cheh Chang though believes his charges will face a tougher challenge in the Asian meet due to the presence of the likes of China, Japan and South Korea, who did not compete in the Malaysian tourney. 'Overall, our players' performances have been okay so far but we haven't met teams like China, Korea, Japan, India and Taiwan,' said Cheh Chang. 'The most important part for us is preparation and team work. We have to go step by step.' Dania-Zi Yu and their teammates will first compete in the mixed team event which will be held from July 18-22 before turning their attentions to the individual event from July 23-27. In the mixed team competition, Malaysia have been placed in Group B along with Indonesia, Singapore, Macau and Myanmar. Only the top two teams in the group will progress to the quarter-finals. In last year's edition, Malaysia won a silver through Aaron Tai-Kang Khai Xing (boys' doubles) while Siti Zulaikha Azmi (girls' singles), Ong Xin Yee-Carmen Ting (girls' doubles) and mixed team all contributed bronze medals.
The Star
28-04-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Junior coach Pang is not ready to make a point on new scoring format
National doubles assistant coach Pang Cheh Chang PETALING JAYA: It's too quick to judge if the new 15-point scoring format is good or bad for badminton. Junior men's doubles head coach Pang Cheh Chang (pic) is not drawing any hasty conclusions about the new system just yet but wants to wait and see when it's tested in senior competitions first. Cheh Chang was part of the coaching team guiding the junior shuttlers in the just concluded Under-18 National Championships in Ipoh which was the first test event for the 3x15 system. The Badminton World Federation (BWF) are considering replacing the current 21-point system and will next test the 15-point format in selected lower tier senior tournaments from May until October. Cheh Chang believes BWF were taking the right approach in testing the system in lower tier events first before deciding to implement it in the World Tour. 'I cannot say yet whether the 15-point system is good or bad as we are just experimenting it for the first time in the Under-18 tournament,' said Cheh Chang. 'We need to see the system in the senior events first. The level is different between junior and senior players. 'Juniors are not fully matured yet and their game is not yet stable. Only in the international senior competitions, the difference between the 21-point and 15-point systems will be more obvious.' If the new system is implemented, Cheh Chang believes that players need to be quick to adapt well in matches to succeed. 'In this new format, those who can adapt to the changes in matches faster will be able to perform better,' said Cheh Chang. 'If they know how to handle the situation and are more versatile to changing their game plan, then they have the advantage. 'The 15-point system means the matches will be fast and there's no time to think too much. 'But if you are flexible to handle this kind of strategy and your emotions are stable, then that's an advantage 'In the 21 points system, you need more stamina as you need to play until maximum 30 points. The 15 points is a bit faster,' added Cheh Chang. One of the senior events which will see the 15-point system tested will be the Malaysian International Challenge from Aug 12-17.
