For Letshanaa, staying consistent matters more than No. 1 tag
Letshanaa overtook Goh Jin Wei to become the country's top player in the women's singles last month after making it into the quarter-finals in the US Open in Iowa.
The 21-year-old jumped five rungs from No. 45 to No. 40 in the rankings while Jin Wei is currently at No. 43.
After struggling for a breakthrough in the World Tour earlier in the year, Letshanaa showed good improvement when she reached the last eight twice in a Super 300 event in US and the Taiwan Open in May.
The youngster is now aiming to build on her encouraging showings and is determined to prevent her No. 1 status in the country weigh her down.
"I don't want to put undue pressure on myself after becoming Malaysia's No. 1 in the women's singles," said Letshanaa.
"Most important for me is to keep improving and focusing on my performance in each tournament.
"I'm doing better on court. I have improved physically and I can give any player a tough fight.
"I hope to bring this momentum into my next tournament."
Letshanaa will next compete in the Macau Open from July 29-Aug 3.
She is hoping to do well to move up the rankings faster and qualify for Super 750 and 1000 competitions.
"It will be a good opportunity and exposure for me if I can play in Super 750 and 1000 events," said Letshanaa.
"I still have to work on my consistency, tactical aspects and mental game though.
"I'm not setting any specific targets for myself in Macau. The most important is to play my own game in each round."
The draw for the Macau tourney will be released on July 22.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Straits Times
9 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Sze Fei-Izzuddin face friendly fire in Tokyo
KUALA LUMPUR: For men's doubles Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani, the biggest threat could come from inside, not outside. As the Japan Open begins today in Tokyo, compatriots Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik seek to take the title away from defending champions Sze Fei-Izzuddin. Ominously, world No. 2 Aaron-Wooi Yik appear fiery enough to stop world No.1 Sze Fei-Izzuddin. Aaron-Wooi Yik are clearly on a hot streak — winning the Asian Championships, Thailand and Singapore Opens At the other end, Sze Fei-Izzuddin have cooled down. They have not won on the World Tour since their India Open triumph in January. BAM's Aaron-Wooi Yik (89,870 points) are snapping at independent pair Sze Fei-Izzuddin (91,090) in the world rankings. Datuk Razif Sidek, who won the Japan Open in 1986 with Datuk Seri Jalani, believes an all-Malaysian final between the two pairs in the Super 750 event will provide a great image for Malaysian badminton. "The Japan Open has assembled a world class field and it's definitely going to be an honour to see our pairs justify their top two rankings and set up an all-Malaysia final. "Since all the top pairs are in Tokyo, it will be a quality win for either Sze Fei-Izzuddin or Aaron-Wooi Yik. "Sze Fei-Izzuddin will have a double goal of defending the title and also safeguarding their No. 1 ranking, and Aaron-Wooi Yik will stand to gain if they falter. "No matter what happens, it should be a success story for Malaysia as both pairs must battle it out to go all the way with several strong rivals from South Korea, China and Japan waiting to pounce. "The Japan Open will also be a testing ground before the World Championships in August, and it will be good to see our pairs securing the title to boost their chances at the major event," said Razif. Sze Fei-Izzuddin should sweep aside Canada's world No. 66 Kevin Lee-Ty Alexander Lindemann in the first round, but they are expected to face a tough obstacle against either Denmark's Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen or China's Chen Bo Yang-Liu Yi (world No. 11) in the semi-finals. Aaron-Wooi Yik, who meet compatriots Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi (world No. 30) in their opening round, have a tougher draw where they could face China's world No. 6 Liang Wei Keng-Wang Chang or 15th-ranked Indians Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty in the last eight. It gets tougher as they could face either South Korea's world No. 3 Kim Won Ho-Seo Seung Jae or Japan's world No. 16 Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi in the last four. Having won the 2022 world title at the Metropolitan Gymnasium in Tokyo, Aaron-Wooi Yik will be hoping for similar magic at the Japan Open this week.
The Star
a day ago
- The Star
For Letshanaa, staying consistent matters more than No. 1 tag
PETALING JAYA: Consistency is more important for women's singles shuttler K. Letshanaa than her new status as the national No. 1. Letshanaa overtook Goh Jin Wei to become the country's top player in the women's singles last month after making it into the quarter-finals in the US Open in Iowa. The 21-year-old jumped five rungs from No. 45 to No. 40 in the rankings while Jin Wei is currently at No. 43. After struggling for a breakthrough in the World Tour earlier in the year, Letshanaa showed good improvement when she reached the last eight twice in a Super 300 event in US and the Taiwan Open in May. The youngster is now aiming to build on her encouraging showings and is determined to prevent her No. 1 status in the country weigh her down. "I don't want to put undue pressure on myself after becoming Malaysia's No. 1 in the women's singles," said Letshanaa. "Most important for me is to keep improving and focusing on my performance in each tournament. "I'm doing better on court. I have improved physically and I can give any player a tough fight. "I hope to bring this momentum into my next tournament." Letshanaa will next compete in the Macau Open from July 29-Aug 3. She is hoping to do well to move up the rankings faster and qualify for Super 750 and 1000 competitions. "It will be a good opportunity and exposure for me if I can play in Super 750 and 1000 events," said Letshanaa. "I still have to work on my consistency, tactical aspects and mental game though. "I'm not setting any specific targets for myself in Macau. The most important is to play my own game in each round." The draw for the Macau tourney will be released on July 22.
New Straits Times
a day ago
- New Straits Times
Early danger in Tokyo for Tang Jie-Ee Wei
KUALA LUMPUR: Mixed doubles pair Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei's hopes of winning their first World Tour tournament this year will face a stern early test at the Japan Open which begins on Tuesday. While world No. 4 Tang Jie-Ee Wei should beat Canada's world No. 144 Kevin Lee-Josephine Wu in the first round, they are expected to face China's All England champions Guo Xin Wa-Chen Fang Hui in the second round. That is a match fraught with danger for the Malaysian pair though the young China duo are ranked five rungs lower in the world rankings. National doubles coaching director Rexy Mainaky said Tang Jie-Ee Wei must get past Xin Wa-Gang Hui if they are to win the title in Tokyo. "A big challenge for Tang Jie-Ee Wei against the Chinese All England champions, but it will be a boost for them for the matches after that," said Rexy. "In terms of preparation, Tang Jie-Ee Wei are ready for the Japan Open. Everything in training has been looked into, and they just need to go with the momentum." Tang Jie-Ee Wei had a commendable run in the second half of last year — where they won the Korea Open and finished seocnd at the World Tour Finals — but had a brief split-up in March due to personal differences. They reunited later and reached the Indonesia Open semi-finals last month. Though Xin Wa-Fang Hui look formidable, Tang Jie-Ee Wei are expected to be quietly confident as they have a winning 2-0 head-to-head record against the Chinese duo. Xin Wah-Fang Hui also face a tricky first round against Indonesia's rising pair, world No. 14 Jafar Hidayatullah-Felisha Pasaribu. The other Malaysian mixed doubles competing in Tokyo are world No. 6 Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai, world No. 13 Hoo Pang Ron-Cheng Su Yin and world No. 34 Wong Tien Ci-Lim Chiew Sien.
