True fighter: Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen is the epitome of resilience and discipline. — AP
PETALING JAYA: Taiwanese shuttler Chou Tien-chen is indeed an ideal role model for youngsters in Malaysia.
The 35-year-old Tien-chen defied his age to reach the Indonesian Open final before going down 20-22, 14-21 to Denmark’s Anders Antonsen at the Istora Senayan in Jakarta on Sunday.
Independent singles coach Nova Armada believes that Tien-chen’s never-say-die spirit should be an example to all shuttlers in Malaysia.
Tien-chen, who does not have a coach, sometimes trains at Nova’s training centre, Sports Affairs and this arrangement has also benefited the Indonesian’s charge Aidil Sholeh Ali Sadikin, who gets the opportunity to spar with the Taiwanese.
“Tien-chen is very disciplined and mentally strong.
“He lost in the early rounds in the Malaysian Masters and Singapore Open (before the Indonesian Open) but refused to give up,” said Nova.
“He bounced back strongly and managed to perform well in the Indonesian Open despite his age. He is a great example to young players like Aidil.
“Aidil is only 25 and needs to emulate Tien-chen’s spirit and mentality.”
Tien-chen pulled off stunning wins over Thailand’s world No. 1 Kunlavut Vitidsarn and China’s world No. 4 Li Shifeng en route to the final in Indonesia.
Tien-chen’s performance was all the more remarkable as he was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2023.
The world No. 7 fought to survive and continued playing badminton, enjoying a remarkable renaissance last year.
Tien-chen captured the Arctic Open and Thailand Masters titles last year and finished runner-up in the Japan and Swiss Opens.
He also narrowly lost to Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew at home in the Taiwan Open final last month.
Nova hopes Aidil can take inspiration from Tien-chen and keep improving after reaching a career-high No. 47 in the rankings recently.
Aidil is currently Malaysia’s No. 4 player in the men’s singles behind world No. 15 Lee Zii Jia, Leong Jun Hao (No. 25) and Justin Hoh (No. 43).
“My target is for Aidil to break into the top 40 first this year. Then, hopefully he can move up into the top 32 latest by next year,” said Nova.
“I also want him to try to qualify for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.”
Aidil will compete next in the Macau Open from July 29-Aug 3.
