KUALA LUMPUR — The Malaysian women’s singles department has been in the doldrums for far too long and Akademi Badminton Malaysia (ABM) coaching director Rexy Mainaky was in no mood to sugarcoat his general assessment of the shuttlers following another dismal outing in the 2025 Malaysia Open.

He cited grumbling and making excuses as just two of the many factors holding back Malaysian women’s singles shuttlers from going far and becoming world beaters.

Rexy revealed that there were even some women’s singles shuttlers who complained of tiredness when undergoing training sessions at the ABM in Bukit Kiara here.

“They grumble a lot and say they are tired. However, we hope they realise that they won’t achieve anything by grumbling.

“You must know the reason why you must continue to fight and how to get what you want. Instead, what do you do? Train a little and you already complain of pains and aches,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the 2025 Malaysia Open badminton championships at the Axiata Arena here.

He added that if these players, armed with such an attitude, were playing for superpowers like China, Indonesia or Japan, they would have been expelled from the team.

Citing the results of the 2025 Malaysia Open, Rexy urged the national shuttlers to emulate the feat of 21-year-old Thai ace Pornpicha Choeikeewong, who produced a sensation by ousting world number five Han Yue of China 18-21, 21-13, 21-19 to advance to the semi-finals.