KUALA LUMPUR: National women's singles coach Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin has played down expectations at the Indonesia Masters, stressing that the Super 500 tournament is part of a learning process rather than results-driven.
World No. 42 K. Letshanaa and world No. 43 Wong Ling Ching will represent Malaysia in the women's singles.
However, Iskandar is not putting high hopes on both players as he wants them to gain experience in Jakarta ahead of the Badminton Asia Team Championships (BATC) in Qingdao, China next month and Uber Cup in April.
"We want to take it step by step and my expectations are not too high for now," said Iskandar.
"Our main focus is on bigger targets in the coming months, especially the BATC."
At last year's Indonesia Masters, Letshanaa reached the second round of the main draw after coming through the qualifying rounds.
Ling Ching, meanwhile, will make her debut in the Super 500 tournament and has to play in the qualifying rounds.
"I hope Ling Ching can make it into the main draw since she is the No. 1 seed in the qualifiers," said Iskandar.
He said the Indonesia Masters will test how well both players apply their training in a competitive environment.
Iskandar added that one of the key challenges at the Istora Senayan is handling the pressure of playing in an atmosphere that is known to be intimidating.
"What matters most is how they handle the pressure that naturally comes during tournaments like this.
"This tournament is about learning, adapting and understanding what is needed at this level," he said.
