KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 26: The professional independent men’s doubles pair of Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Mohd Rumsani will undergo training sessions with the Badminton Association of Malaysia’s (BAM) team in preparation for the Malaysian Open, which begins on Jan 6.
“The pair will undergo training sessions twice a week to improve the quality of sparring while also benefiting the national men’s doubles and themselves,” said national men’s doubles head coach Herry Iman Pierngadi.
“Yesterday, Rexy (Manaiky, the national doubles coaching director) texted me about the independent players joining training twice in one week. I said yes, please do, it is indeed timely to prepare for the Malaysia Open.
“So, maybe when the independent players spar on their own, it might be less intensive, so they join here. It’s also all about being together, it’s good,” he said.
Herry believes that training sessions with professional pairs and men’s doubles can create healthy competition among players.
“In my opinion, sparring with independents is on the same level because they (the national men’s doubles) are both at the top. So, I think that would be better,” he said.
Herry said the training period with the professional independent players for now is still short-term and was focused on preparing for the upcoming Malaysian Open, while there were no discussions on arrangements for the Thomas Cup tournament in April.
Meanwhile, national men’s doubles player Aaron Chia says he and his partner Soh Wooi Yik will be more selective in choosing which tournaments to play in 2026.
He welcomed the suggestion by Rexy for national players to be more selective in choosing tournaments to compete in, describing the move as timely and beneficial in managing workload and sustaining performance throughout the season.
Chia hoped that their tournament schedule next year would be kept below 20 events to help ensure they remain in optimal physical condition throughout the campaign.
“Perhaps around 18 to 20 tournaments next year, but we will try to limit it to under 20. I also hope we can maintain our ranking in the top three because it sometimes helps in terms of votes,” he said.
On another matter, Chia said that fitness has become their top priority as the duo is placing greater emphasis on strengthening their physical conditioning, taking into account the growing physical demands of the sport, the increasingly congested tournament calendar, and the need to maintain peak performance as they progress in their careers.
“We also hope to maintain our fitness and physical condition. We strictly follow the training programmes that have been planned, including the recovery sessions, so that is not an issue,” he said when met after a training session at the Badminton Academy Malaysia (ABM) here today.