KUALA LUMPUR: National women’s singles player K. Letshanaa (pix) will not let the opportunity slip if she is scheduled to face world-class players in the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour series to assess her true performance level.
The 2023 Uganda International Challenge champion, however, realises that it is not an easy task if she is drawn to face them as early as the first round throughout the Olympic qualification period until April.
She said the Thailand Masters tournament from Jan 31 to Feb 5 would be her first arena to showcase her abilities this season but she needs to pass the qualifying stage first when facing Ines Lucia Castillo Salazar from Peru in order to compete in the main draw.
“Every tournament is very tough since Olympic qualification is going on. Every tournament has top 10 and top 20 players so it’s very difficult to enter the quarters or semis to get results but I am looking for an upset (against higher ranking players).
“We can expect the first round itself to be top 10 or 20 so whether it’s easy or difficult for the draw, I want to play against them. I want to challenge myself and see if I can upset them and how far is my standard from them,” she said when met by Bernama.
Letshanaa also acknowledged that the training regime implemented by the head coach of the national women’s singles team, K. Yogendran, since taking over the team in the middle of last year, has greatly improved the strategies and playing patterns displayed when facing their opponents.
As such, the world’s 60th-ranked player has big dreams of improving her position by placing herself among the top 40 in the world, especially now that she is free from any injuries.
“I can adapt to his (Yogendran) coaching style and absorb what he wants from me. I think it got easier than last year as the understanding is quite good between us.
“I’m also excited to start the year with no injuries. I want to enjoy it without much pressure as I want to give my best first and see what’s the outcome,” she said.
Letshanaa had previously left the national team in February 2022 due to a back injury before rejoining the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) in February 2023.
Meanwhile, Yogendran announced that they would send women’s singles players to as many tournaments as possible this year to allow them to gain new experiences but admitted it is a bit challenging as his players’ rankings do not meet the Olympic qualification requirements for Paris 2024.
“I have four players under my care now, namely Letshanaa, Wong Ling Ching, Siti Nurshuhaini Azman, and a junior player. I can see their quality level improving, but to ensure they always improve, they need to compete in tournaments,” he said. -Bernama
