PETALING JAYA: Goh Jin Wei’s (pic) battling displays in the Sudirman Cup have impressed Wong Choong Hann.
The independent women’s singles shuttler had stunned India’s 2019 world champion P. V. Sindhu 14-21, 21-10, 22-20 in a thrilling match in the group stage and it paved the way for Malaysia to beat India 5-0.
World No. 30 Jin Wei also gave Denmark’s world No. 25 Mia Blichfeldt a tough fight in the quarter-finals before narrowly losing 14-21, 21-15, 19-21.
Her defeat though did not prevent Malaysia from winning the tie 3-1.
National singles coaching director Choong Hann was pleased with Jin Wei’s overall performance.
“Jin Wei was one of our star performers. She helped us to seal the deal against India earlier after we led 2-0. It was really an extraordinary win (over Sindhu),” he said.
“In the quarter-finals, she also played really well against Mia but luck was not on her side.
“Her fighting spirit though gave the other players in the team a boost.”
Meanwhile, Jin Wei’s coach Nova Widianto wants his charge to continue her good performances in the Malaysian Masters starting tomorrow at the Axiata Arena.
“Jin Wei’s performance in the Sudirman Cup showed that she is progressing well. She has been working hard in training and her fitness is getting better,” he said.
“She needs to maintain her good form moving forward, starting with the Malaysian Masters.”
In the home tourney, Jin Wei is the sole Malaysian representative in the women’s singles and is set to play Germany’s world No. 26 Yvonne Li in the first round.
A win will likely see her face Thailand’s world No. 13 Busanan Ongbamrungphan in the second round.
“My target for Jin Wei is the quarter-finals. She has a good chance to beat Yvonne but she needs to stay focused.”
