National women's singles shuttler Jin Wei drops bombshell retirement announcement

PETALING JAYA: National women's singles shuttler Goh Jin Wei has dropped a bombshell on Monday (Sept 13) by announcing her retirement from badminton.

The 21-year-old made the announcement via her personal YouTube channel on Monday morning, saying that the decision was made due to health reasons.

Jin Wei said she's still struggling to cope with her physical condition after being diagnosed with a stomach ailment that required a colectomy procedure (a type of surgery used to treat colon diseases) in mid-2019.

However, she has not not been able to recover fully ever since and is dependent on a "number" of medications daily for continuous treatment.

"The number of medications that I need to consume has increased to keep me going every day. For the sake of my own health, I have no choice but to end my career early.

"I quit with a lot of regrets and unwillingness. But I believe that I have a life long journey to go through. I believe that I can still excel in other fields in the future as long as I am willing to work hard for it," she said.

The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) could not be reached for confirmation.

Jin Wei's shocking decision has dealt BAM a massive blow as they were aiming to rebuild a formidable young squad for the Paris Olympics 2024, with Jin Wei is set to play a prominent role in the women's singles event.

Jin Wei has been making good headway since joining the seniors in 2017 before the stomach ailment hampered her progress.

Due to her inactivity, Jin Wei has slipped from a career-best 24 to 146th in the world rankings.

However, she made some ground this year by reaching the quarter-finals of the Orleans Masters in France and finished runner-up to teammate S. Kisona at the Spain International.

She boasts a successful junior career having won the World Junior Championships twice in 2015 and 2018 and Youth Olympic Games, also in 2018.

At the senior level, her best achievement was winning the SEA Games gold in 2017.