Huge responsibility: Goh Giap Chin (right) will handle Guangxi Province team’s senior and junior singles players.
PETALING JAYA: Former international and world junior champion Goh Giap Chin has received a shot in the arm to take his coaching career to new heights.
Giap Chin and another ex-national player Chang Kim Wai have earned the trust of China Badminton Association (CBA) to become coaches at the Guangxi Province in Nanning and will serve for three years.
They are the rare former Malaysian players given the mandate to coach a Chinese province team, who act as the feeder team for the national squad.
The 29-year-old Giap Chin will handle the senior and junior singles players while Kim Wai has been tasked to train the doubles department.
Giap Chin, who reported for duty in Guangxi after the Chinese New Year, is proud that Malaysian coaches are now recognised abroad, and more so by badminton powerhouse China.
“It’s an offer that I could not refuse. It’s an honour to coach Guangxi Province,” said Giap Chin.
As a player, Giap Chin did not achieve much with the exception of being part of the gold-medal winning team at the 2011 world junior championships, silver medal winner with the Asian junior team, and winning the 2016 Indonesia International title.
He left the BAM set-up in 2013 and played as a professional for five years under the New Vision badminton academy before becoming a coach with Penang in 2020.
He immediately found his touch as a coach when his girls’ singles players Wong Ling Ching and Oo Shan Zi made heads turn.
The 20-year-old Ling Ching captured the national Under-21 championships last May and reached the semi-finals of the Sydney International in October, which earned her a place in the national team.
She is currently in Dubai for the Asian Mixed Team Championships with Goh Jin Wei and Co.
“This is an opportunity of a lifetime as I can learn from the new training environment here. We are officially registered as badminton coaches under the CBA,” said Giap Chin.
“The Guangxi Province team are not a private club or academy.
“Our task in this province team is to send the best players to China’s national team.”
The players who have graduated from the province are Lu Kai (men’s doubles), Huang Hua (women’s doubles in 1990s), Tang Yuanting (women’s doubles) and Zhou Mi (women’s singles), to mention a few.
“The offer is good but the main thing is that I’ll be able to learn from a different training and management style,” said Giap Chin.
“It’s a big dream for a young coach like me to be here.
“I take it as a challenge to produce players for the national team and improve my credential as a coach,” he added.
Giap Chin and Kim Wai are several of the Malaysian badminton coaches who are based overseas.
The others are Jeremy Gan, Tan Kim Her and Lee Wan Wah (Japan); Lim Pek Siah (Singapore); Chin Eei Hui (New Zealand) and Vountus Indra Mawan (Australia); Wong Tat Meng and Choong Tan Fook (Hong Kong).
Salim Samion was based in Ukraine while K. Yogendran was in Mauritius before returning to Malaysia.
