KISONA MOVES ON AFTER DIFFICULTIES

World No 64 is looking forward to bouncing back

NATIONAL women’s singles S. Kisona just wants to forget the last two years and start fresh, beginning with the Badminton Asia Team Championships (BATC) that starts today in Shah Alam.

In the last two years, the 24year-old did not only come down with Covid-19 twice but also suffered from dengue just weeks before travelling to Europe for the Sudirman Cup in Finland, last September.

Not forgetting, the Serembanborn world No 64 was also a victim of racial abuse following her poor performance at the world mixed team meet.

The nightmare did not stop there for Kisona, who had to be withdrawn from several tournaments due to the psychological trauma she had to go through.

Kisona, however, believes the worst is behind her.

“I see it as a learning process in life as not everyone can be on top all the time.

“There will always be some ups and downs.

“Unfortunately, I stayed down a little too long.

“However, since the World Championships in Spain last year, I’ve had a good break to bounce back.

“I’ve been training really hard, and I’ve bulked up a little too, so physically, I’m in much better shape. I hope to build on this momentum,” Kisona told Timesport on Sunday.

Following the BATC team managers’ meeting yesterday, the Malaysian women’s team will open their Group Y campaign against defending champions Japan today.

“Honestly, I feel very proud of my teammates because not only are they young, but they have only been training with us seniors for the past one month and a half,” Kisona added.

“Hopefully, we can pull our strength together to do well in this competition.

“On paper, Japan is definitely the team to beat, but we have also prepared well for this tournament. So let’s see.”

Apart from Kisona and Eoon Qi Xuan, three other women's singles, Siti Nurshuhaini Azman, 18, Tan Zhing Yi, 19 and Myisha Mohd Khairul, 20, only started training with the senior team this year.

The other team in Group Y is India, who Malaysia will face tomorrow.

Indonesia, South Korea, Hong Kong and Kazakhstan make up Group Z.

The top two teams from each group will reach the semi-finals and automatically book their place in the Uber Cup in Bangkok on May 17-22.