KUALA LUMPUR: The rise of Hoo Pang Ron-Cheng Su Yin will see them pushing Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei, but national mixed doubles coach Nova Widianto is not satisfied with only two top pairs.
The Indonesian wants to produce more strong pairings for Malaysia to challenge badminton giants China whose doubles players currently occupy the top three positions in the world rankings.
"I think this is good as both pairs (Pang Ron-Su Yin and Tang Jie-Ee Wei) will have sparing partners who are on the same level.
"I hope to have three or four pairs in the top level so that we can be on the same level as China," said Nova today.
Nova said there is a significant gap between the junior and senior players and he hopes they will develop a stronger mentality.
"The juniors are struggling to produce good results even at the International Series and Challenge level.
"They lack the ability to make good decisions and lose focus quickly. Physically there's nothing wrong with them, so I want them to improve and be more consistent," said the 2008 Beijing Olympics silver medallist.
Pang Ron-Su Yin, who have shown notable improvement this year, finished second in the China Masters recently.
Nova, who is happy with Pang Ron and Su Yin's performance, said that experience at the top level is what made the difference between them and China's top pair.