Tan Kim Her wants scratch pairs to play with a winning mentality – Badminton news
Malaysia’s Doubles chief coach, Tan Kim Her, said that scratch pairs in the national team should enter into court with a winning mentality at the Thomas Cup Qualifying Round, which is set to take place in Macau from February 13-19.
Kim Her wants young shuttlers to avail this opportunity and establish their professional career by performing well in this qualifying tournament for Thomas Cup Finals, which will be held in China, in May.
The coach is also optimistic that young shuttlers have the ability to compete against top players and will help Malaysia to qualify for the Finals.
The coach is putting much emphasis on young players because top seeds in Men’s Doubles squad, Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong, are in wrecked form as they have not won any major title since January 2010.
It will be a challenging task for Malaysia to make the cut for Thomas Cup Finals as besides the poor form of World Number Six Kien Keat and Boon Heong, three shuttlers in Men’s Doubles squad are going to make their debut in the qualifying round of Thomas
Cup.
Teo Kok Siang, Lim Khim Wah and Goh V Shem will be playing for the first time in this team-event tournament.
The coach wants these shuttlers to perform well and make their presence felt to the world. He wants them to remain confident and play with a winning mentality.
Kim Her said, "They should take this as an opportunity to establish their international careers and must go in with a winning mentality.”
He further added, "V Shem-Khim Wah played in the Sea Games last November and they did well in the team event while Kok Siang is a steady player. The advantage is that V Shem and Kok Siang are capable of partnering anyone in the team and this will give us
some breathing space especially with Kien Keat-Boon Heong off form."
To play in this qualifying round championship is a great opportunity for the young Malaysian shuttlers as they will get much needed experience by playing against the top shuttlers in the world of badminton.
Malaysia, Hong Kong and South Korea have been drawn in the same group. The Malaysian shuttlers will first face Hong Kong team and then will be up against the second seeded Korean squad.
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