Hazwan is one of a kind as he mixes up his coaching role

PETALING JAYA: Transitioning from coaching men’s singles shuttlers to mixed doubles is hard for some people but not Hazwan Jamaluddin.

Hazwan was initially worried when he was moved from the junior men’s singles coaching role to the mixed doubles in the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) at the end of last year.

The 40-year-old though has been learning the ropes from mixed doubles head coach Nova Widianto and assistant coach Lutfi Zaim and is getting used to his new position.

“I used to play in the men’s singles and then I was coaching the junior shuttlers in the event,” said Hazwan.

“When I was moved to mixed doubles, I was worried at first. Thankfully, Nova made it easier for me.

“He assured me that it is not difficult and gave me pointers on managing the pairs under me. Lutfi has also been helping me a lot.

“I’ve learnt a lot from them. All three of us are working well together. I had to start from zero but I’m taking this as a new challenge.”

Among the young pairs under Hazwan are Datu Anif Isaac-Dania Sofea Zaidi and Loh Ziheng-Noraqilah Maisarah Ramdan.

Both pairs have been fast tracked into the senior team this year and are Malaysia’s best bets for medals in the mixed doubles in the Asian Junior Championships from July 18-27 in Solo, Indonesia.

Anif-Dania showed promise when they finished runners-up in the Dutch Junior International in February while Ziheng-Aqilah captured the national Under-18 title in Ipoh last week after beating their teammates in the final.

“Anif-Dania showed that the gap between them and pairs from China and Indonesia is not big when they reached the final in the Dutch Junior,” said Hazwan.

“Ziheng-Aqilah are also a promising pair and our target is for them and Anif-Dania to win medals in the Asian Juniors.

“We also keep reminding these pairs that they need to continue doing well when they move up to the senior level.”