We go back a long way: Rosman is the one who brought Pearly and Thinaah (pic, below) together as a pair during their days in the back-up squad. Now, he has the bigger task of trying to take the national No. 1 pair to a higher level.
PETALING JAYA: It will be a reunion of sorts when Rosman Razak begins his coaching duty with the women’s doubles department led by Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah next month.
Rosman is the one who brought Pearly and Thinaah together as a pair during their days in the back-up squad and now, he is facing a bigger challenge to take the national No. 1 pair to a higher level.
Improving a struggling new young pair is easier than pushing a top pair but Rosman is relishing the challenge.
“I still remember their struggles when we paired them up during my stint as the women’s doubles coach (in 2012). Pearly and Thinaah had different issues to deal with but they worked hard to overcome it,” said Rosman.
“Pearly’s physical condition was not good enough to compete at the senior level and it took a long time to build the basics in strengthening her physique,” said Rosman.
“The process was long as we didn’t want her to get injured.
“Thinaah had just left the singles and was trying out the doubles. It wasn’t easy to switch as we had to change her basic skills to complement her partner. I was surprised by Thinaah as she was patient with the changes we were making.
“Now, I’m proud to see how far they have come. They have won titles and are in the world’s top 10. Coach Hoon (Thien How) has done a good job with them.
“They have grown in stature and strength, and it is also because of their own hard work.
How far more can world No. 9 Pearly and Thinaah go under Rosman?
“My job now is to take them to another level of play, that’s my challenge as a coach. I have to find that something extra in them to make them better,” said Rosman
The duo’s highest position in the world ranking is fifth and their biggest Open title is the recent Hong Kong Open.
While focusing on Pearly-Thinaah is important, Rosman’s another big job is to narrow the gap between his best pair and the rest of his players in his team.
Except for Teoh Mei Xing-Go Pei Kee, the others like Lee Xin Jie, Tan Zhing Yi, Cheng Su Hui, Amanda Yap, Chan Wen Tse, Chong Jie Yu, Vanessa Ng Po Lyn and Vannee Gobi - are all aged between 19 and 22.
“I have a different group of players this time around, with 80% of them being young. I need to start all over again, it’s a big task too but I’m positive,” he said.
“The gap between the youngsters and Pearly-Thinaah is huge but Rexy (Mainaky, national coaching director) wants me to narrow it. I’m grateful that he has faith in me.
“Fortunately, we still have time with the youngsters. I hope they can prove to me, BAM (Badminton Association of Malaysia) and everyone that they can be like Pearly-Thinaah or even better.”
Rosman is more confident as a coach now. After his stint with the BAM, he went to the Philippines in 2020 before handling the professional doubles players in 2022.
“My journey has been long (over two decades). I’ve worked in different countries and with different groups, cultures and environments, and faced different situations but all these have helped me to grow,” he said.
“I’ve gained valuable experience, widened my coaching philosophy and enhanced the knowledge in what I do. I’m just glad to be back here.”
Rosman will report for duty on Nov 5, but is still unclear on his first international duty with the team.
“I’ve not discussed the details with Rexy yet but of course, we will do the early planning and get everything in order when I come in,” he added.
Pearly-Thinaah will be taking part in the Masters tournament in Japan and China next month, before turning their focus on the World Tour Finals in Hangzhou, China, from Dec 10-15.
