KUALA LUMPUR: Newly appointed national singles head coach, Kenneth Jonassen, has declared that his ultimate goal is to help Malaysia win an Olympic badminton gold medal at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics (LA28).
The Dane believes that his four-year mission will start the moment he begins his duties officially on Jan 4.
Jonassen, who gave a press conference at Academy Badminton Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur today, stressed that he lives through the ambitions of his players as a coach, and he wants to inspire them to work towards the ultimate goal of delivering at LA28.
Having guided compatriot Viktor Axelsen to his first Olympic gold in Tokyo in 2021, Jonassen is aware of the huge challenge and expectation in turning Malaysian shuttlers into world beaters.
Jonassen is also known for coaching former world No. 2 Anders Antonsen and former world No. 11 Rasmus Gemke.
"It's the ultimate goal to win the LA Olympics gold," said Jonassen today.
"I believe four years is a long journey but reaching the gap from now on to get them into full capacity is huge.
"We have to go step by step as we don't know how fast these players will progress. Some will learn faster but others will take time.
"It's the talent and the ambition behind each player that drive me and these are the attributes that I want to further in them.
"I will work closely with the players and my colleagues as it is going to be a team effort as nobody can achieve this goal on his own.
"For that to happen, we need a lot of honesty and hard work. That means working 24-7 and 365 days for a long time to get to the Olympic gold.
"Because nothing can be left to chance and we have to turn every stone to get there," said Jonassen.
Malaysia's strength in the singles has declined since the retirement of Lee Chong Wei, and independent shuttler Lee Zii Jia has been the country's sole flagbearer in major events.
Therefore, Jonassen will have a huge challenge to elevate the players under the BA of Malaysia's stable: world No. 29 Leong Jun Hao, Justin Hoh (No. 41) and Ng Tze Yong (No. 156) into Olympic medal prospects.
Jonassen said that time is still on the players' side as they have until 2027 to show progress and battle through the Olympic qualifying period.
"Not knowing too much about the players that we have, I would like to do my own research and work with them to find out if they can achieve the goal," added Jonassen.
"When the players get the confidence, things happen. I'm not too worried about the small number of players in the squad.
"For me, it's about the players having potential and they have huge potential. My role is to maximise their potential."
On his decision to join BAM, Jonassen said he felt that the success in Europe eventually led him to try a new challenge in Asia, particularly in Malaysia.
"In one way you can say if you are successful in Europe, all roads lead to Asia where badminton is a bigger sport. I've always been a fan of Malaysian badminton and for me to get the opportunity is quite unique," said Jonassen.
"A phone call from Rexy (Mainaky, BAM coaching director) got me thinking seriously about the possibility. This is a once in a lifetime chance and I'm really happy to be here.
"I have been with Denmark for 13 years and it was the time to have a new challenge and I decided to accept this offer.
"I'm not sure if destiny was playing a trick on me as I decided to have my Christmas and New Year holidays with my family in Malaysia about six months ago. And now I'm here."
Jonassen's first assignment as the national singles head coach will be the Malaysia Open on Jan 7-12, next year.