Jeremy says winless Peng Soon-Liu Ying must be more analytical

NATIONAL mixed doubles pair Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying did not bow out of the Olympic Games badminton competition empty-handed – they learned their lessons from the three defeats in the group matches.

Coach Jeremy Gan said yesterday that “the players let their expectations go to their head and forget their strategy”.

“This is what happens when you lose your focus. They should have played their normal game and stick to game plan. Instead, you could see that they allowed the pressure to get to them and then made it harder by wanting to win at all cost,” he said.

“It is good to have a winning mentality but, in a pressure-cooker situation like the Olympics, you must analyse the situation and do things a little differently.”

Peng Soon-Liu Ying lost their opening match 12-21, 21-6, 15-21 to Taiwan’s Chen Hing Lin-Cheng Wen Hsing before going down meekly to China’s Xu Chen-Ma Jin 14-21, 8-21.
Yesterday the Malaysians lost 16-21, 15-21 to Thailand’s Sudket Prapakamol and Saralee Thoungthongkam.

Peng Soon-Liu Ying are ranked seventh in the world but the other pairs are all ranked higher.
“Peng Soon-Liu Ying have played against these pair before and could beat them. Like I said, they need to be prepared for a higher level of competition. The game at this level is always very different from the GP series,” said Jeremy.

So, what now for the pair?

Jeremy believes it’s time for them to go back to basics.

“Yes we must look back and start all over again. I want the two players to realise how they got here. What did they do to qualify?,” he said.

“If you don’t learn from the past, you cannot move forward. Every step you take is a learning process. I hope they realise the mistakes they have made and try harder at a top-level tournament next time.
“This has been a good experience for them.”



THE STAR