Time For National Players To Move Up The Ranks - Rexy

KUALA LUMPUR, April 3 (Bernama) -- Badminton Academy Malaysia (ABM) coaching director Rexy Mainaky stressed that it is time for national players to move up the ranks in the team to complement the leading members such as men's doubles Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, the women's doubles Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah and the mixed doubles Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei, especially ahead of the 2026 Badminton Asia Championships (BAC).

According to Rexy, the situation at the national camp should not be likened to sending a large team to the battlefield but only expecting victory from a few individuals.

He wants other players including the men's doubles pair Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun and Wan Arif Wan Junaidi-Yap Roy King to enhance their mental strength with the mission of contributing results for the team.

"Other players also have potential but why do we only rely on Aaron-Wooi Yik, Pearly-Thinaah or Tang Jie-Ee Wei. It doesn't mean we don't want to rely on them, because they have proven so far in the tournament that they can translate into good results.

"So seeing that this is also like sending soldiers to war, we send a hundred but we rely on only two or three people, so this is not right either," he told reporters after a training session at ABM, today.

Commenting further, Rexy said the difference between main players and backup players does not lie in the quality of training but rather in the way of thinking and mental strength when on the court.

He said, backup players can no longer enter the tournament feeling less confident or just satisfied if they lose because they think there are still senior players who can be relied on.

"We can see that in training, they are not different from Aaron-Wooi Yik, Pearly-Thinaah and Tang Jie-Ee Wei. But this is a mental factor and you have to believe in yourself," he said.

Asked about the benchmarks he wants for players at the BAC, the Indonesian badminton legend wants them to set a target to have a champion mentality because they have proven their ability to defeat players in the world's top 10 before.

"On benchmarks for Wei Chong-Kai Wun, Arif-Roy King, of course we will talk about them, I want them to be champions. But do they have the same mentality or think the same way?

"This is what we have to unite, right? Only when we get to coach, we really see their capability to defeat top ten players," he said.

After the end of the assignment at the BAC which will take place in China from April 7 to 12, the national squad is scheduled to return home temporarily before departing for Denmark on April 14 to undergo a central training camp as final preparation for the Thomas and Uber Cup competition from April 24 to May 3.

-- BERNAMA