Hendrawan believes youngsters must show consistency to earn place in 2016 Olympic squad
Malaysia's back-up squad coach Hendrawan declared Misbun Ramdan Misbun, Goh Soon Huat and Iskandar Zulkarnain potential contenders but he thinks these youngsters have plenty of catching up to do to make their place in 2016 Olympic squad.
The next edition of the Olympics will be staged in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Badminton Association of Malaysia has launched special four-year programme to secure the country’s honour in this prestigious event.
Hendrawan has been given the responsibility to unearth spirited shuttlers to increase the talent pool as there will be a huge gap after retirement of the maestro Lee Chong Wei.
Though, World Number 27 Daren Liew and Number 32 Wei Feng Chong has been named as the expected replacements but Hendrawan did not overlook others youngsters.
The badminton guru admitted that Ramdan, Soon Huat and Iskandar have showed some spark in the arena but he asserted that these Malaysian lads should be consistent to make a strong impact at international level.
He said, "Ramdan, Soon Huat and Iskandar have shown improvement but they are still inconsistent. They can upset or trouble the established players but once the experienced players find a way to counter them, they are lost."
According to Badminton World Federation (BWF) rules, only top 32 Men’s Singles campaigners will have the honour to swing their arms in the mega event.
It means Ramdan, Soon Huat and Iskandar, who are World Number 67, 92 and 110 respectively, have long distance to cover in next four years.
However, former World Champion Hendrawan believes only time will tell that who is going to raise country’s flag in Rio de Janeiro Games.
Moreover, he also advised them to elevate their skills to give Daren and Wei Feng a tough time in the 2016 Olympic qualification tussle. He thinks this healthy competition will ultimately raise the standard of their game.
He said, "They must start bridging the gap with Daren and Wei Feng and always compete to overtake them and this competition will see an overall improvement among the singles players."
The troika is scheduled to participate in major events like Vietnam Open and Indonesia Open Grand Gold next month and these international events will be a golden opportunity for them to prove their mettle.
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