KUALA LUMPUR: Words, they say, can inspire, motivate and persuade; or discourage, dismiss and discourage.
In national women’s single shuttler K. Letshanaa’s case, they have lifted her spirit and inspired her to work even harder after world number two An Se Young complimented her during the recent Sudirman Cup 2023.
Although Letshanaa, who was making her Sudirman Cup debut, lost 10-21, 13-21 to Se Young during the Malaysia-South Korea semi-final tie, the Malaysian said the conversation she had with the South Korean ace had boosted her morale.
“We had a conversation after the game and Se Young said I am a good player, but I should work more on improving my frontcourt play. It was really good to get compliments from the world number two,” Letshanaa told reporters after a training session, here, today.
Malaysia ended up losing 3-1 to South Korea and had to share bronze with Japan, who fell 3-2 to eventual champions China in the other semi-final match.
Se Young is the most in-form women’s singles shuttler this year, having won five out of eight World Tour titles, including the All England 2023 by beating China’s Chen Yu Fei 21-17, 10-21, 21-9 in the final in March.
Apart from playing against Se Young, Letshanaa, who was just a backup shuttler in the 2021 edition in Vantaa, Finland, had earlier disposed of Tiffany Ho 21-19, 21-12 en route to helping Malaysia thrash Australia 5-0 in their opening Group C match of the Sudirman Cup.
Letshanaa, the Uganda International Challenge 2023 champion, said she was also happy to get some tips from Goh Jin Wei, who was her roommate during the Sudirman Cup campaign, especially on having the right mindset of not throwing in the towel so easily.
She said she was really impressed with Jin Wei’s fighting spirit when the former 2018 Youth Olympic champion came from behind to stun former world champion P.V. Sindhu 14-21, 21-10, 22-20 to help Malaysia outplay India 5-0 in the other Group C tie of the Sudirman Cup.
Letshanaa, whose skills have improved, hopes to work harder on improving her lower body strength and gear up for high-intensity performances should she come up against higher-ranked players.
The Malaysian, who has been seeded second for the Mongolia International Challenge in Ulaanbataar from June 27 to July 2, also hopes to break into the top 50 in the near future. – BERNAMA
