KUALA LUMPUR, April 22 (Bernama) -- Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) has tapped men's singles player Leong Jun Hao and national number one women's doubles player Pearly Tan to lead the national squad's challenge at the 2025 Sudirman Cup in Xiamen, China.
Doubles coaching director Rexy Mainaky said the trust given to Jun Hao and Pearly to shoulder joint responsibility as team captains could have a positive impact on their respective leadership styles both on and off the court.
"Pearly, who used to be behind the scene, but is now quite active in providing information in the group.
"Jun Hao is also probably the first time he has become a captain and it is something good for him," he told reporters after the Sudirman Cup 2025 central training session here, today.
Commenting on today's simulation match, Rexy said the situation helped the players to strengthen their respective psychological aspects, especially their preparations for court action before they leave for Xiamen, this Thursday.
Meanwhile, the doubles expert from Indonesia said the presence of three professional representatives, namely the country's number one men's doubles Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani, the mixed doubles Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie and the women's singles player Goh Jin Wei, created a positive impact on the prestigious tournament central training session that has been going on since last week.
"Actually, the impact on both sides (BAM and professionals) is enormous and positive for the team since we trained together,” he said.
The Malaysian squad will also be strengthened with the presence of Justin Hoh (men's singles); K. Letshanaa (women's singles); 2025 Asian Badminton Championships champions Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik and Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun (men's doubles); Go Pei Kee-Carmen Ting (women's doubles); as well as Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei and Hoo Pang Ron-Cheng Su Yin (mixed doubles).
Malaysia, drawn in Group C, will open the campaign against France (April 28) followed by Australia (April 29) and third seed Japan (May 1).
Only the top two teams from each group will qualify for the quarter-finals.
Malaysia's best achievement in the Sudirman Cup is reaching the semi-finals three times, namely in the 2009, 2021 and 2023 editions.
-- BERNAMA
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