KUALA LUMPUR: National women's singles coach K. Yogendran wants his charges to use the National Championships this week as a stepping stone to build their confidence and self-belief.
Yogendran admitted that the women's singles players still needed more time to reach a higher level.
Yogendran said like K. Letshanaa, Wong Ling Ching, Siti Nurshuhaini Azman and Oo Shan Zi are not short of talent and have shown decent progress.
"As we all know, our women's singles department is not the strongest compared with the other four disciplines.
"I only took charge a month ago, and my main goal, apart from improving their game, is to help them build on their confidence and self-belief.
"Winning and losing is part and parcel of an athlete's growth. I want to see how they manage their emotions while playing to their true potential."
Before joining the BA of Malaysia last year, Yogendran played a pivotal role in guiding then 14-year-old Letshanaa to the Under-18 national crown in 2017.
Yogendran said previous results should not be used as a yardstick.
"We must remember that Letshanaa was an independent player before joining the national team this year. It's very different because under the national setup, we have regimented programmes for players.
"Our focus is on building the players' physical strength. As a result, there will be some ups and downs in their results.
"We also cannot draw comparison with their previous results because the game is not the same as when they were juniors.
"I can see progress, and that is important. We should also work on encouraging our players."
Letshanaa is seeded second and Ling Ching, who recently reached the semi-finals of the Mongolia International Challenge, is seeded third in the National Championships, which start on Tuesday at Juara Stadium.
Two-time former world junior champion Goh Jin Wei is the top seed.