Jin Wei eyes world junior title, Tokyo Olympics

GEORGE TOWN: National women’s singles shuttler Goh Jin Wei wants to keep her focus on consistency for the next tournament in order to achieve her prime target of qualifying for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

St i l l fresh from winning the girls’ singles title at Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Jin Wei who is ranked 27th in the Badminton World Federation ( BWF) ranking said her next major tournament would be the World Junior Championship where she hopes to deliver something.

“I am currently preparing for the World Junior next month and I hope to deliver something for Malaysia,” she told a press conference organised by Penang Youth and Sports committee chairman Soon Lip Chee here yesterday.

The annual BWF World Junior Championships will be held in Ontario, Canada from November 5 to 18 and the Malaysian team will be spearheaded by Jin Wei, the 2015 world junior champion for girls’ singles.

The 18- year- old Penangite who was accompanied by her mother Loh Bee Sim, said she is currently focusing on improving her physical strength and to pick up her speed.

She said expectation for her to deliver the gold in the individual event is quite high but she also wants to deliver points in the mixed team event.

Besides Jin Wei, the team included the Sukma men’s singles runner-up Aidil Sholeh Sadikin, 2018 Malaysian International Junior Open champions Pearly Tan-Toh Ee Wei and 2017 Asian Junior bronze medallists Ng Tze Yong, Eoon Qi Xuan and Chia Wei Jie.

In 2017, Malaysia went down 1- 3 to China in the mixed team event held in Jakarta while Jin Wei crashed out in the quarter-finals of the individual competition.

Meanwhile, Penang Badminton Association ( PBA) president Kah Kau Kiak said Jin Wei need to gain more experience by competing in senior championships while she is still young, including the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, if she qualifies.

“The upcoming Olympic Games will serve as a trial for Goh, but if she managed to earn a medal there, that would be the best,” said Kah, who is also the Badminton Association of Malaysia vice president. — Bernama