PETALING JAYA: Foo Kok Keong’s son is only nine years old but is already showing the same passion as his legendary father and could be a star in the making.
Former world No. 1 and a fighter of a player during his heydays, Kok Keong was an integral part of the 1992 Thomas Cup winning team and is grooming his son, Foo Hao Yu to follow in his footsteps.
Hao Yu has been playing badminton since the tender age of five and has been training at Tactical Badminton in Kuala Lumpur under coach Andrew Chang.
A fortnight ago, Hao Yu proved his budding talent when he finished as the boys’ singles Under-10 runners-up in the 2022 OUG Junior Tournament which is a competition catering for talented youngsters, who are not state players.
Another former world No. 1 Roslin Hashim’s son Mohd Adam Rayyan, 10, also took part but he lost in the second round.
Kok Keong wants his son to reach for the stars and dreams of him emulating his own achievements.
“Hao Yu had started playing badminton even earlier than me as I was 10 when I took up the sport while he has already started at the age of five,” said Kok Keong.
“I was the first Malaysian to reach No. 1 when the world rankings was introduced and also won the country’s last Thomas Cup title 30 years ago.
“Now, my dream is for my son to become the country’s first world champion in men’s singles and first Olympic gold medallist,” added Kok Keong.
Andrew was effusive in his praise for the youngster and confident that he had the passion to excel in the sport.
“Hao Yu is very passionate about badminton. He knows who is who from the 80’s to the current generation of players. This is due to his father, who sparked his interest in the game by bringing him to badminton events and watching live games together on television before he even knew how to walk properly.
“During Hao Yu’s free time and especially during the lockdowns in the country, he will watch a lot of matches on Astro or YouTube.
“He will catch small details of players such as when they towel down to delay a match and shake hands before and after the match.
“He can also mimic Lee Zii Jia’s smashes accurately.
“These are advantages for him as he knows and loves the sport and has the passion to excel in it. He just needs to put in the time and effort in training to perfect his craft. There are no shortcuts to success,” explained Andrew.
Meanwhile, Roslin is also equally excited with his son’s progress.
“My son is training under an Indonesian coach Moro Asmoro at his club Asmoro Badminton in Kuala Lumpur,” said Roslin.
“It’s my hope that he will be a world and Olympic champion one day but I don’t want to rush his development. I want to let him grow at his own pace.”
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