Asiad singles exits a painful lesson, says Jonassen

AICHI: National singles coaching director Kenneth Jonassen said his players' inconsistent performances at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games were a painful lesson they must learn from if they want to challenge the world's best.

Jonassen had hoped for deeper runs in the individual events after encouraging displays in the team competition, but Malaysia's singles players have all been eliminated.

"The men performed very well in the team event. The women's singles players also showed positive signs there," he said.

"But in the individual events, these were missed opportunities and we should have done better.

"I had high hopes and believed the players could go further in this tournament.

"What we have learnt here is a valuable lesson. We need to address it if we really want to move forward and challenge the best players in the world."

Malaysia's men's singles hopes ended in the third round with defeats for Leong Jun Hao and Justin Hoh.

Jun Hao lost 21-16, 11-21, 21-16 to Indonesia's Alwi Farhan on Saturday, four days after stunning world No. 1 Jonatan Christie 20-22, 21-17, 21-17 in the team event.

Jun Hao's win gave Malaysia their first point in a tie they eventually lost 3-2 to Indonesia.

Jonassen said the world No. 33 struggled to control his match against Alwi because of inconsistency and attacking errors.

"Unfortunately, his inconsistent play and mistakes in attack made it difficult for Jun Hao to keep up. Alwi controlled more of the momentum," he said.

"He tried his best to find solutions, but the gap was too big."

Justin lost 21-14, 21-14 to Singapore's former world champion Loh Kean Yew. He had earlier pushed Alwi in the team event before losing 21-19, 21-19.

"He lost to a more experienced opponent, got caught in a few small situations and was never really able to mount a full challenge," Jonassen said of Justin's defeat to Kean Yew.

"He still needs better tactical awareness and the ability to manage difficult situations during a match."

In the women's singles, K Letshanaa lost 21-13, 21-13 to Taiwan's Chiu Pin Chian in the first round. Wong Ling Ching fell 21-14, 20-22, 21-19 to India's Unnati Hooda in the second.

Jonassen praised Ling Ching for fighting back in a close three-game match, although she could not hold her position when Unnati adjusted her play late in the contest.

"She was behind for much of the match and managed to catch up, but could not sustain it when her opponent made changes towards the end," he said.