NATIONAL women’s badminton doubles head coach Rosman Razak remains focused on preparing top pair Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics (LA28), despite uncertainty surrounding their status with the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM).
With the duo’s contract with BAM still unresolved following the expiry of their previous deal at the end of last year, speculation has grown that they may turn professional.
Rosman, however, said he will continue to give his full commitment as long as the Indonesia Open 2025 runners-up remain under his guidance.
“Whatever the decision or outcome, I will continue serving because I don’t know the future. As long as they are still under my training, I will do my best to guide them towards our goal.
“This is why BAM hired me, I will only concentrate on the objective (LA28) only,” he said when met at the training session, here, today.
During the Indonesia Open 2025 final last Sunday, the world number four pair pushed world number one and top-seeded Chinese pair Liu Sheng Shu-Tan Ning to the limit in a thrilling one-hour and 29-minute final before going down 25-23, 12-21, 19-21 at the iconic Istora Senayan venue.
Even though they narrowly missed out on the title in the Super 1000 tournament in Jakarta, Rosman, who was delighted with his charges’ performance, hoped Pearly-Thinaah would remain consistent in future tournaments.
He also noted the pair’s progress since he assumed his current role last November, praising their openness to adapting and improving.
“They are willing to listen and adapt because being top pairs is not as easy as people think. There are many other factors which can cause them to rise and fall but they acted professionally,” he said.
When asked whether Pearly-Thinaah are improving in higher-tier tournaments, Rosman said the level of quality and pressure remains the same, whether it’s a Super 500 or Super 750 event, as the top pairs competing are largely the same across all levels.
“Seriously, I take it Super 500, 750 and 1000 as the same tournament. Pressure is still the same. I cannot say Super 500 and Super 750 are easier and Super 1000 has more pressure, as there’s no such thing,” he said.
