Jonassen Urges Players To Take Ownership Of Progress

By Amiril Muttaqien Meketar

HORSENS (Denmark), May 1 (Bernama) – National singles coaching director Kenneth Jonassen believes Malaysia’s young squad must take greater ownership of their development following their campaign in the Uber Cup Finals 2026 here.

Looking back at the overall performance of Malaysia especially against top sides China and Japan here, Jonassen pointed out that improvement must come from within, not solely from the coaching bench.

While competing against world-class opponents had provided invaluable lessons, he also said that players must actively reflect and respond.

“The opportunity to play true world-class, which we have done against Japan and China today, is that kind of experience which you need to learn from.

“You need as a player to learn from these experiences and recognise which area you need to improve on. Not wait for the coach to tell you what to do,” he said when met here.

Malaysia’s journey in the Uber Cup Finals 2026 came to an end as they were eliminated by defending champions China 0-3.

This is Malaysia’s quarter-finals appearance for only the fourth time, matching their best-ever achievement in the competition after previous appearances in 2004, 2008 and 2010.

The national team had opened their Group B campaign with a 3-2 win over Turkiye before thrashing South Africa 5-0 to confirm their place in the last eight.

They finished as Group B runners-up following a 4-1 loss to six-time champions Japan.

In the meantime, Jonassen said that such exposure should also reinforce belief among the players that they are capable of competing at the highest level.

“Trust and believe in your own ability is very important, but also need to continually stay hungry for improving yourself.

“Not thinking that, just as long as time goes, I will improve. No, I need to commit 100 per cent to the process and believe in the direction I'm going,” he said.

-- BERNAMA