KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 24 — Swiftly, after gaining a place among the national elites, men’s singles shuttler Eogene Ewe Eon, wanted to work on his physical fitness and skills to be able to rub shoulders with the best players.

The Bagan Serai lad, who will turn 19 in February, said that physical strength will play a crucial role when playing against far more experienced players at the senior level, and very helpful when facing back-to-back tournaments.

Eogene, who just entered the national senior team four months ago, said that physical advantage is also pivotal in achieving his target, of breaking into the world’s top 100, from his current 319th spot.

"I am taking this chance to push more (in training) because no tournaments now, in order to improve my skills and physical strength. I am young and fresh, so this is a good time to push myself further.

"Before this, I was only playing against junior shuttlers, but now I will have to face more experienced players; perhaps, those aged 20 plus even up to 40. It will be far more challenging,” he said when met recently.

On Tuesday (Dec 19), national men’s singles coach, Hendrawan, said that the Akademi Badminton Malaysia (ABM) decided to take a new approach, of dividing the national shuttlers into two groups — A and B — with the players in the A group competing in 12 to 14 tournaments a year, while those in Group B will have their participation reduced to about four to six only.

Group A will comprise Eogene, Ng Tze Yong, Aidil Sholeh Ali Sadikin, Leong Jun Hao and Justin Hoh, with Shaqeem Eiman Shahyar, Chua Kim Sheng, Ong Ken Yon, Ong Zhen Yi and Jacky Kok listed in Group B.

Eogene believes that his inclusion in the elite group, while some of his peers and seniors are in Group B, is mainly due to his good results in 2023, especially winning the Malaysian Junior International Challenge title in September, and advancing to the finals of the German Junior Open in March.

Idolising national badminton great, Datuk Lee Chong Wei, Eogene set sights on the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics as his long-term target. — Bernama