JinWeishows strength of character ahead of Sudirman Cup.
Jin Wei hailed as a fighter for taking health issues in her stride
KUALA LUMPUR: National women’s singles head coach Datuk Tey Seu Bock has hailed Goh Jin Wei as a fighter ahead of the Sudirman Cup in Nanning, China, from May 19-26.
The 19-year-old is set for her first competitive appearance in six weeks after missing out on the Asian Badminton Championships and the New Zealand Open last month.
It was initially thought the twotime world junior champion was struggling to recover from a nagging hamstring injury sustained during the German Open where she reached the semi-finals in March.
But Seu Bock revealed that the world No. 25 Jin Wei is also dealing with stomach ailments which he refused to elaborate.
“Jin Wei did injure her hamstring, but has since recovered. The actual reason is that she’s having problems with her health,” said Seu Bock.
“Despite her issues, she’s giving the same commitment in training. If she misses the morning session, she would make up for it in the afternoon.
“Although there’s some adjustment to her training schedule, she’s still undergoing the same amount of training.
“Jin Wei doesn’t give up easily. She’s a fighter. In fact, she has been improving the last few weeks and I believe she’ll be fit for the Sudirman Cup,” he added.
Seu Bock is convinced that Jin Wei can only get stronger after her predicament.
“This is the process and journey a young player like Jin Wei has to go through in order to become a top player,” said Seu Bock.
“Be it a health problem or injury, she must learn to cope and overcome it and put things back on track.”
For the Sudirman Cup, Malaysia will be up against China and India in Group D and must finish in the top two to progress.
Both opponents are certainly strong in the women’s singles with China having the luxury of fielding either world No. 3 Chen Yufei and world No. 6 He Bingjiao while India could throw in world No. 5 P.V. Sindhu or world No. 9 Saina Nehwal.
But Seu Bock stressed that Jin Wei and Soniia Cheah will be no pushovers.
“It’s definitely tough when you face the likes of Yufei, Sindhu or Saina, but I wouldn’t think that our players have no chance at all,” he said.
“As the tournament is part of the Olympic qualifying event, Jin Wei and Soniia will be eyeing an upset because a win over a higher-ranked opponent would net them bonus points.”