YOUTH and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh has urged stakeholders to allow national singles coaching director Kenneth Jonassen sufficient time to revitalise Malaysia’s badminton squad following their underwhelming display at the 2025 Badminton Asia Junior Championships (BAJC).
She emphasised that the ministry has provided full support to the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) to strengthen the singles division under Jonassen’s leadership.
“The new coach has just arrived and has yet to warm his seat to assess their performance properly. So, I feel that he deserves to be given time to evaluate their performance, and produce champions... this is something that cannot be achieved in a month or two,“ she said during the closing ceremony of the 2025 Malaysian Women’s Amateur Open golf championships at Templer Park Country Club.
Hannah’s remarks follow concerns raised by national badminton legend Datuk Seri Lee Chong Wei, who cautioned against placing excessive short-term expectations on Jonassen, who joined Akademi Badminton Malaysia (ABM) less than a year ago.
Former national coach Wong Tat Meng also warned of a looming crisis in Malaysia’s singles badminton development after junior shuttlers exited early in BAJC 2025, which concluded on July 27. - Bernama
