Former national badminton coach, Rashid Sidek believes Malaysia has already found a successor to continue Lee Chong Wei’s legacy in the form of national youth player, Goh Jin Wei.
According to Rashid, world junior champion Jin Wei has everything it takes to be a top player despite being relatively young. He added that she’s got plenty of time to develop.
“Up until now, I can’t see a replacement for Chong Wei besides a few potential candidates. However, don’t forget about Jin Wei. She is only 16 this year and she’ll be 20 during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
“We have to develop her with care. Give her the best that we can and I’m sure we’ll find Chong Wei’s successor if everything goes smoothly, even though it’s in the form of a woman shuttler,” he told Utusan Malaysia.
But while he’s keen on seeing BAM put in more effort to develop Jin Wei, Rashid also hopes to see the 16 year-old believe in herself and work hard towards helping Malaysia claim its elusive Olympic gold medal in 2020.
“I’m confident that the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) has short and long term plans for Jin Wei. She needs to be given the exposure in international tournaments to get qualifying points for Tokyo 2020.
“But at the same time, Jin Wei have to be aware of mental and physical pressure. It has to be balanced with her physical condition to prevent unwanted incidents such as injuries,” he added.
Jin Wei created history in Peru last year when she became the first Malaysian women’s singles player to win the Junior World Championship title.
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