Youngster K. Letshanaa is ready to step up and take her chances after being fast-tracked into the senior badminton squad.
The 18-year-old has not enjoyed many opportunities on the international stage but has been thrust into the limelight after being named for both the Sudirman Cup in Finland (Sept 26-Oct 3) and the Uber Cup Finals in Denmark (Oct 9-17).
It is indeed a surprise as the Selangor-born has yet to compete in a senior event over the last 18 months. Her last senior event was the Malaysian International Challenge in 2019.
Letshanaa has, however, shown that she has the potential to go far after topping the BA of Malaysia's (BAM) internal ranking competition earlier this month.
And with former world junior champion Goh Jin Wei dropping a bombshell by announcing her retirement earlier this week, there is an opportunity for Letshanaa to get some action in both tournaments.
"To be honest, I was expecting a call up for the Uber Cup because we had a playoff for it, and I was working towards that," said Letshanaa.
"But to be called up for the Sudirman Cup is quite a surprise for me because I did not expect that.
"My head coach told me that these tournaments are good exposure for me. It would be good for me to gain more confidence and experience from it.
"And it's really a big opportunity for me, and I hope to learn how to handle the situation and the pressure.
"It would certainly be a good experience to prepare myself mentally and physically for more major events in the future.
"But I also do hope that I could pull off a surprise if I am called upon because we know anything can happen on court, and there's always a chance to win a match."
Besides Letshanaa, BAM have also named world No 53 S. Kisona, Eoon Qi Xuan and Siti Nurshuhaini Azman for the Uber Cup. Kisona and Qi Xuan are also in the Sudirman Cup squad.
With Jin Wei now excluded, Letshanaa could very well be the next in line for the third singles tie.
The Sudirman Cup squad will depart for Finland on Tuesday.