'Coaching shake-up may have hurt BAM shuttlers at All England'

KUALA LUMPUR: Former international Datuk James Selvaraj believes that the shocking first-round exits of almost all BA of Malaysia (BAM) players at the All England could be a direct result of the recent coaching shake-up.Only women's doubles world No. 5 Pearly Tan-M.

Thinaah remain in contention, taking on Indonesia's Apriyani Rahayu-Siti Fadia Ramadhanti in the second round on Friday.Meanwhile, six BAM pairs and men's singles shuttler Leong Jun Hao suffered early exits in Birmingham. Among them were men's doubles: Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik (No.



5), Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun (No. 7) and Wan Arif Wan Junaidi-Yap Roy King (No. 17); mixed doubles Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei (No.

4) and Hoo Pang Ron-Cheng Su Yin (No. 13).James pointed to the recent appointments of Kenneth Jonassen as singles head coach in January and Herry IP as men's doubles chief last month as potential reasons for the BAM contingent's dismal European campaign.

Before the All England, BAM players — except for Jun Hao — also struggled at the Orleans Masters Super 300, where only Arif-Roy King reached the quarter-finals.James believes the new training regimes introduced by Jonassen and Herry may have disrupted the players' preparations and confidence."It was disappointing to see almost all BAM players crashing out in the first round," said James.

"The players need time to adjust to the new training methods. They are likely undergoing a transition period, which has affected their performance."Typically, players need a strong warm-up tournament before a major event.

Instead, they underperformed at the Orleans Masters, which hurt their confidence heading into the All England."James also pointed out that the departure of former men's doubles coach Tan Bin Shen may have further unsettled the team."The men's pairs were accustomed to Bin Shen's training style, and it's tough to adapt to Herry's approach in less than four weeks.

"But the poor results cannot be ignored. Coaches must engage closely with the players and ensure they adapt quickly."BAM must also reassess whether the current training regimes are truly benefiting the players and be willing to make adjustments to improve their tournament performances.

'James believes BAM should take this failure as a lesson and plan more effectively to ensure Malaysia can compete for All England glory next year,© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd.