Doubly hard: Coach Nova Armada going through the paces in training with Goh Jin Wei. — LOW BOON TAT/The Star
PETALING JAYA: Coach Nova Armada might not be able to guide women’s singles shuttler Goh Jin Wei in the Paris Olympics but he is going the extra mile to prepare her here for the showpiece event.
Nova will not be able to accompany Jin Wei in Paris due to limited accreditation passes but does not want to dwell on the issue and instead wants to focus on making sure his charge is ready for the competition.
The badminton tournament will be held from July 27-Aug 5 at the Adidas Arena in Porte de la Chapelle.
“I cannot follow Jin Wei to Paris but this will not disrupt her training under me before the competition,” said Nova. “I am guiding her every day now and she is in high spirits. My main focus is to make sure she trains hard and is ready for the competition.”
National coaching director Rexy Mainaky will step in and guide Jin Wei in Nova’s absence when the tournament starts.
Earlier, Nova had admitted that he was disappointed for not getting the opportunity to guide Jin Wei in the Olympics but had no choice but to accept the situation.
The Indonesian will instead focus on guiding Cheah Liek Hou and Fareez Anuar for the Paralympics in August.
“Despite our best efforts to find a way around this, we were repeatedly told no. As a coach, this news was disheartening,” said Nova via social media.
“When I was coaching Liek Hou and Fareez in a tournament in Scotland, Jin Wei had a meeting with the CDM (Datuk Hamidin Amin) regarding this issue and was left frustrated that I could not follow her.
“As a coach, I couldn’t be angry and respected her decision to express her feelings via social media, because I understand her desire for her coach’s presence at such an important event.
“It wasn’t that I didn’t want to go, but the accreditation situation made it impossible. Hence I have accepted the circumstances, and will make use of the time to focus on the Paralympics.
“With my explanation, I hope to clear up any misunderstandings and prevent any further confusion regarding this issue.”
World No. 33 Jin Wei will be making her debut in the Olympics and is Malaysia’s sole representative in the women’s singles.
The other Malaysian shuttlers who have qualified are Lee Zii Jia (men’s singles), Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik (men’s doubles), Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah (women’s doubles) and Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei (mixed doubles).
