Starting anew: Indonesia’s Anthony Ginting beat Taiwan’s Lee Chia-hao 21-12, 21-18 in the Malaysian Open first round. — FAIHAN GHANI/The Star
KUALA LUMPUR: With a new coach and sponsor, Indonesian shuttler Anthony Ginting is seeking a fresh start this year.
World No. 10 Anthony had a disappointing 2024 by his own high standards with his only notable result in the men’s singles coming in the All-England where he finished runner-up to teammate Jonatan Christie.
The 28-year-old suffered a group stage exit at the Paris Olympics in August after a shock loss to homester Toma Junior Popov.
Anthony is now hoping to start anew with coach Mulyo Handoyo, who re-joined the Indonesian Badminton Association (PBSI) last month, replacing Irwansyah.
The 63-year-old Mulyo guided former legend Taufik Hidayat to the 2004 Athens Olympics gold and world title in 2005 before moving abroad to coach in India and Singapore.
Anthony also signed up a sponsorship deal with Victor this year.
“I think it’s time for a fresh start for me this year with a new coach and new sponsor,” said Anthony.
“It was a tough time for me after the All-England last year. I felt a lot of pressure especially leading up to the OIympics.
“It was not easy to accept the result there but life has to go on. I was also playing while carrying many injuries after that.
“So, after the Denmark Open (in October), I decided not to compete in any other tournaments until end of the year to fully recover.
“Now, things are getting better for me and I hope to get back my form,” added Anthony.
On working with Mulyo, Anthony said: “We have only been training together for two weeks after PBSI made the announcement.
“We need more time to know each other well and try to get the chemistry between us.
“Everything is going well and I’m happy with our time together in training so far.”
Yesterday, Anthony powered into the second round in the Malaysian Open after beating Taiwan’s Lee Chia-hao 21-12, 21-18 at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil.
The Indonesian has a tougher task next against Thailand’s reigning world champion and Olympic silver medallist Kunlavut Vitidsarn.
