KUALA LUMPUR: National women's singles shuttler S. Kisona must decide if she wants to keep on going or call it quits.
Yesterday, the 23-year-old suffered her fourth "early exit" this season, crashing out in the first round of the World Championships in Tokyo with a 21-10, 21-17 loss to Vietnam's Vu Thi Trang.
Kisona's defeat drew heavy criticism from Malaysian fans, who have called for BAM to drop the struggling shuttler.
But will axing the 2019 Sea Games champion from the naional setup solve Malaysia's women's singles woes?
Former international Datuk James Selvaraj believes there can be more to badminton than just playing the game.
"Firstly, we need to understand that Kisona is struggling not because she's a bad player but because she's got two bad knees. It's never easy to come back from that.
"A lot of folks have been calling me, asking me to get her (Kisona) to quit, but how can you do that?
"When you love something, you will want to do it.
"Kisona needs to be truthful, not just to BAM but herself. Can she still cope with the tough training programme? The coaches need to assess her too.
"Perhaps she can be a role model to the younger players, or a sparring partner. Maybe send her for courses to become a coach.
"I pity her too but in badminton you need to move. If your knees are not allowing you to do so, you can't play," said James.
Another former international, Rashid Sidek, urged the public to not be too quick in passing judgement.
"Kisona tries, and I know she does, but it's not easy when you go out there all the time, only to suffer early exits.
"Of course from the outside, it's easy for us to point a finger, and go on a witch-hunt, but have we thought about her future? Are we going to offer her a job?
"Also, Kisona is still the best player in the national squad, there are no backup players to close the gap. BAM cannot just simply axe her.
"What I can say is that it's really very tough for someone to come back to play top level badminton after suffering bad knee injuries.
"The women's singles game is very different. You must be fit and you must run, a lot.
"No amount of skill will save you, if you can't move on court," said Rashid.
Apart from winning the Sea Games gold in Manila, Kisona also bagged the Spanish International title last year before making the cut for the Sudirman Cup squad.
BAM have made it clear that they will stand by Kisona, but for how long?
It also remains to be seen if her latest defeat in Tokyo would prompt the national body to explore other avenues for Kisona to continue contributing to the national team.