Badminton

Letshanaa crowned national women's singles champion

KUALA LUMPUR: Women's singles shuttler K. Letshanaa edged closer towards her dream of becoming the Malaysian No 1 (in the world rankings) when she bagged the national crown on Sunday.

Letshanaa, a former national Under-16 and Under-18 champion, defeated 20-year-old Wong Ling Ching 16-21, 21-17, 21-19 at the Juara Stadium in Bukit Kiara.

Speaking to the press after the prize-giving ceremony, the Selangor-born Letshanaa noted that the victory comes as a huge boost ahead of her World Tour debut at the Korea Open next week.

However, Letshanaa also admitted that she still has a long way to go before challenging the best in the world. "Ling Ching played a very good match today. I made unforced errors in the first game.

"As I had mentioned, there is still this pressure on me to perform as the No 1 BA of Malaysia player. It is not easy to handle that pressure and can be quite challenging.

"I bounced back in the second game, and the rubber was tough because Ling Ching ran for all the shuttles and did not want to lose.

"I need this kind of challenging game. It gives me a huge boost to perform at the Korea Open. I still have some weaknesses to work on, but it is time for me to shift my focus on playing in higher-tier tournaments," said Letshanaa, who rejoined the national setup this year after leaving in 2022.

On the areas that need improvement, Letshanaa added: "I am working hard on my footwork and movement on court. Yes, these are some of my weaknesses that need improvement.

"It has only been a month since coach K. Yogendran took over the women's singles department, and it is difficult to say much about progress yet. What I can see is there is definitely improvement among the women's singles players."

Letshanaa is currently ranked No 68 in the world behind two-time world junior champion Goh Jin Wei (No 33), and S. Kisona (No 61).

Both Jin Wei and Kisona are independent players.

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