KUALA LUMPUR — “Let’s go make history together.” This was the rallying call from outgoing national junior coach Jeffer Rosobin to his team ahead of Malaysia’s World Junior Championships mixed team (Suhandinata Cup) semi-final clash against favorites China tomorrow.
The Malaysian juniors, who secured a bronze last year in Spokane, United States, are already guaranteed a medal after their hard-fought 110-85 victory over European powerhouse Denmark in today’s quarter-final in Nanchang, China.
Speaking to Scoop, Indonesian coach Jeffer, who will be moving to the women’s singles department after completing his World Junior Championships assignment, emphasised the importance of the players believing that nothing is impossible after making it this far.
“Today’s match against Denmark is proof that we have a determined group of players this year. Despite the closely contested tie, our players showed great spirit to win each of their games and, ultimately, secure a medal for the second consecutive year.
“Tomorrow, we face the host team, who are the favorites. We can’t stop now; we need to give it everything once again. With a strong fighting spirit, we can seize this opportunity and make history together,” said Jeffer, who earlier this year guided the junior squad to one silver and three bronze medals at the Asian Junior Championships in Yogyakarta.
Jeffer, who joined the Akademi Badminton Malaysia (ABM) setup late last year, may have a point, as under the new relay scoring format (11 points per game, 10 games, race to 110 points), 14-time champions China were also pushed hard in their quarter-final against Chinese Taipei, eventually winning 110-74.
“It all starts with the mind. Our players must believe that we can beat China. At this stage, nothing is impossible,” added Jeffer.
Since the mixed team event was introduced 24 years ago, Malaysia has won it only once, back in 2011. The other semi-final will see Japan take on 2019 champions Indonesia. – October 3, 2024