KUALA LUMPUR: New national singles head coach Kenneth Jonassen, who begins his official duty at next month's Malaysia Open, will be excited to guide world No. 29 Leong Jun Hao.
However, the former Denmark head coach prefers to begin as an observer, and will let his assistant, K. Yogendran, handle things at the Axiata Stadium.
Jonassen has given the thumbs-up to . Yogendran who has been training Jun Hao and world No 49 Justin Hoh since the departure of Indonesian coach Hndrawan in October.
Yogendran was in charge when Jun Hao finished second at the Kumamoto Masters in Japan last month.
Jun Hao and world No. 8 Lee Zii Jia are the local challengers in the men's singles at the Malaysia Open.
Jonassen has made it known that his initial weeks here will be a learning process as he wants to understand the system and the culture better.
"The Malaysia Open is always the highlight of the badminton calendar and this year, it will be even more special to me.
"I will, however, be much more in an observation role to allow me to get a little closer to Jun Hao and coach Yogendran. I can't wait to get started," he said.
The Malaysia Open men's singles field will feature the world's top 20, including world No. 1 Shi Yuqi of China, defending champion Anders Antonsen of Denmark (No. 2) and his compatriot Viktor Axelsen (No. 3).