KUALA LUMPUR: National development director Datuk Misbun Sidek admitted that the Malaysian junior shuttlers still lack physical strength after a disastrous outing at the World Junior Championships in Santander, Spain.
For the first time in the history of the competition, no Malaysian reached the quarter-finals in the individual events and only managed to finish ninth in the mixed team event.
The only other time the Malaysian squad returned home empty-handed was at the 2019 edition in Kazan, Russia.
Misbun noted that much needs to be done, including an overhaul of the junior coaching structure.
However, Misbun also said he will study and propose a new plan to improve those who still have a chance of competing in future editions.
In a statement issued by the BA of Malaysia (BAM) yesterday, Misbun said: "Overall, I am satisfied with the performance of our players because we did not have the best preparations heading into the world meet.
"All our players were first-timers, and we had no information on our rivals and other top nations as there were no World Junior Championships in the last two years (due to Covid-19).
"This is also my first time.
"Tactically and technically, our players were not far behind but what I see lacking are the physical aspects of our players.
"I have identified what needs improvement, and one of them is to revamp the existing coaching structure and bring in new coaches.
"As for the players, I will come up with a proposal to add more training time and have them compete in more senior-level tournaments to fast-track their maturity and ability.
"The plan is to have them all ready and be in the best condition for the next World Junior Championships," Misbun said.
On Thursday, the five remaining players — Justin Hoh, Eogene Ewe (boys' singles), Bryan Jeremy Goonting-Choi Jian Sheng (doubles) and Bryan-Lee Xin Jie (mixed doubles) crashed out in the last 16 of their respective events.
The results came nowhere close to BAM's initial target of winning at least one gold medal.
The coaches in charge of the Under-18 squad are Hazwan Jamaluddin, Poh Chai Boon (singles), Pang Cheh Chang, Vountus Indra Mawan and Lufti Zaim (doubles).