The legendary Indonesian coach saw all three Badminton Association of Malaysia pairs – 2022 world champions Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun, and Wan Arif Wan Junaidi-Yap Roy King – crashing out in the first round.

Herry, who began coaching in Malaysia last month after achieving major success with Indonesia, said this year’s All England results were among the worst in his coaching career.

He said Aaron’s hand injury, coupled with his tactical shift to playing more at the front rather than the back of the court, had proved costly for him and Wooi Yik in Birmingham.

“Aaron still has some issues with his hand; it’s not 100% recovered yet. Secondly, he usually plays at the back, but this time he was often at the front. Regardless of the reasons, they lost,” he told reporters after a training session.

Aaron and Wooi Yik lost to Denmark’s Rasmus Kjaer-Frederik Sogaard 16-21, 21-16, 18-21 on Tuesday.

Herry said Wei Chong-Kai Wun also played below par, as they appeared to follow their opponents’ rhythm and were eliminated by China’s He Ji Ting-Ren Xiang Yu, 15-21, 8-21.

In the case of Wan Arif-Roy King, he said they had struggled to control their emotions in their debut appearance, leading to their defeat by China’s Huang Di-Liu Yang, 21-18, 16-21, 21-17.

The 62-year-old coach said his players needed time to adapt to the playing style he wanted to implement on the court.

He said he planned to conduct an assessment with fellow coach Muhammad Miftah upon the squad’s return from the All England.

Herry did not travel to Birmingham due to visa issues.