KUALA LUMPUR, April 11 (Bernama) -- National doubles head coach Nova Widianto says he is not surprised to see Hoo Pang Ron-Cheng Su Yin crashing out in the first round of the 2025 Badminton Asia Championships (BAC) in Ningbo, China, recently.
Nova said he had kind of expected the result as he wasn't sure how they would handle the pressure that comes with competing in the tournament.
He was, of course, referring to world number 14 Pang Ron-Su Yin's 21-15, 12-21, 11-21 loss to India's Dhruv Kapila-Tanisha Crasto on Wednesday (April 9).
"I wasn't surprised but they (the Malaysian pair) seemed to lose focus in the second and third games, especially Su Yin after they took an 8-6 lead in the second game… they started making mistakes.
"The higher their ranking, the higher the pressure. They must be strong...players can't bottle it mentally. Don't keep thinking about your previous defeats,” Nova told reporters after the national team's training session at Akademi Badminton Malaysia (ABM) at Bukit Kiara here today.
Nova has called on the pair to be wiser in dealing with the pressure.
Last month, Pang Ron-Su Yin also crashed out in the first round of the All England Badminton Championships.
-- BERNAMA
