Kuala lumpur: Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh has called on all parties to give national singles coaching director Kenneth Jonassen the space and time to get the shuttlers firing again following their lacklustre performance in the 2025 Badminton Asia Junior Championships (BAJC) recently.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Hannah stated that the ministry believes it has provided all the necessary support to the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) to ensure that the 51-year-old coach can help improve the singles department. She emphasized the importance of allowing the new coach, who has only recently joined the coaching setup at the Akademi Badminton Malaysia (ABM), adequate time to assess and enhance the players’ performances.

“The new coach has just arrived and has yet to warm his seat to assess their performance properly. So, I feel that he deserves to be given time to evaluate their performance, and produce champions. this is something that cannot be achieved in a month or two,” she stated. Hannah reiterated her confidence that support is best channelled through BAM, as the ministry fully backs their efforts to provide the best infrastructure.

Hannah was commenting on a statement by national badminton legend Datuk Seri Lee Chong Wei, who urged that Jonassen, a former Danish shuttler, should not be burdened with high expectations in the short term. Lee’s comments come in light of the recent performance of the national juniors, who faced early exits in the BAJC 2025.

Earlier, former national coach Wong Tat Meng had raised concerns about a potential crisis in the singles department if immediate action is not taken to address the developmental issues facing Malaysia’s junior shuttlers. His warning followed the disappointing results of the national men’s and women’s junior shuttlers at the BAJC 2025, which concluded on July 27.