THE BAM must look into the psychological needs of national women's singles S. Kisona, or she will continue suffering humiliating defeats, according to former international Datuk James Selvaraj.
On Sunday, the 23-year-old Sea Games champion suffered a shock first round exit at the World Championships in Huelva, Spain, going down 21-14, 21-15 to Turkey's Neslihan Yigit.
While it is understandable that Neslihan is ranked higher than Kisona, it was the manner in which the Malaysian No 1 lost that is concerning.
In 2019, the year that Kisona was crowned Sea Games champion, she had given a better account of herself before losing in three games 20-22, 21-17, 22-20 to Neslihan in the semi-finals of the Bulgarian Open.
This is not the first time that Kisona has come under the microscope for her below par performance.
The Seremban-born shuttler was thrown under the bus in September for her poor showing at the Sudirman Cup in Vantaa, Finland, and in the Uber Cup in Aarhus, Denmark.
To make matters worse, Kisona, who struggled with health issues, was racially abused on social media.
As a result, BAM withdrew Kisona from the Denmark and French Opens in October, not only to protect the player but to get her up and running again.
"I think BAM, the coaching director as well as the women's singles coaches, need to sit and find a solution for this girl.
"She clearly needs a psychologist and a therapist to help her get out of her rut. She is troubled and that needs to be addressed.
"I believe she is training just as hard as everyone else, but there is something else that needs attention. If the issue is not addressed, I fear her suffering more humiliating defeats in the hands of other unknown players," James told Timesport yesterday.
He feels that acquiring a full-time psychologist and therapist would not only benefit Kisona, but also the rest of the national team.
"I think we really need them, not just Kisona but the entire national team could benefit from their services.
"Clearly most of our players are not performing up to standard, why is that? We need to get to the bottom of this." added James.
Meanwhile in the World Championships, 2018 bronze medallist Liew Daren checked into the second round after beating Israel's Misha Zilberman 21-14, 21-14 yesterday.
Daren, 34, will play the winner of the match between India's H.S.Prannoy and Hong Kong's Angus Ng next.