Ex-All England champ Hafiz going for Scotland coaching job

Malaysian badminton player Mohd Hafiz Hashim won the All England title in 2003.

KUALA LUMPUR: Former All-England badminton champion Mohd Hafiz Hashim is ready to give top-level coaching a shot.

Hafiz, who celebrated his 33rd birthday on Sunday, is in the process of securing a job as head coach of Scotland.

If he gets the job he should start work next year and one of his main tasks is to get the Scottish team ready for the World Championships in Glasgow in 2017.

And he will also become the first Malaysian to helm a foreign team as head coach. Previous Malaysian coaches have either handled the singles or doubles departments.

Hafiz, who won the All-England singles title in 2003, said that he was serious in making coaching a successful career.

“I have attended the first part of the interview with the Scotland Badminton Association and the next will be on Sept 27,” said Hafiz, who has passed the first level of coaching certification.

He said that the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) had also spoken to him about the possibility of coaching the national side.

Hafiz left BAM in 2011 and set up Jaguh Tangkis Badminton Club (JTBC) at Kota Damansara in 2013.