Soniia Cheah said she considers herself a work in progress, believing that constant self-improvement will pay dividends.

The Malaysian women singles shuttler's best result after 13 tournaments this year was a quarter-final appearance at the Thailand Open last month.

But there were many positives to the 26-year-old's performance this year, including wins over China’s He Bing Jiao and former world number one Li Xue Rui.

Those victories in itself are motivation for her as she gears up for the China Open and Korea Open in September.

"I constantly have to learn to improve various elements of my game.

"The thing about modern day women’s singles is that every player is all rounded.

"So if you have a weakness in a certain aspect, it will be a disadvantage.

"If you are performing better, opponents will find out what it is and try to use that against you, but the positives for me is that I communicate well with my coach and trainer.

"For now, we are working a lot on strength and endurance," she told Stadium Astro.

With national rising star Goh Jin Wei still out of commission due to a stomach ailment, Cheah will continue to shoulder the responsibility in the women’s singles department.

Currently ranked 31st in the world, she is the highest ranked female national singles shuttler.

She is also not far from breaking into the top 20 if she can elevate certain areas of her game in the coming events such as the China Open, beginning on September 17, where she faces a litmus opening test against world number four Tai Tzu-Ying.

The lanky Malaysian has not beaten her Taiwanese opponent in five outings, but with Tai suffering heartache at the recent World Championships, there could be an opportunity.

"For me, beating her would be a big bonus. I have a lot to learn from her game as well.

"Let’s see how it goes," she added.