PETALING JAYA: Former great Cheah Soon Kit joins England as a guest coach in lead up to the World Championships in Paris in August.
On Friday (July 11), the Badminton England announced that they had hired the 57-year-old Soon Kit, who was a member of Malaysia's 1992 Thomas Cup winning team, on a short-term basis.
"We are thrilled to welcome another vastly experienced former badminton star to the hallowed courts at the National Badminton Centre as Cheah Soon Kit joins the Badminton England coaching ranks as a guest coach," read the statement.
"The former Malaysian men's doubles hero is set to enrich our coaching provision in lead up to the World Championships in August."
In 1994, Soon Kit and partner Soo Beng Kiang defeated English pair Simon Archer-Chris Hunt to win the Commonwealth Games gold. And in 1996, Soon Kit and Yap Kim Hock won the silver medal at the Atlanta Olympic Games.
Soon Kit moved into a coaching role at the end of his playing days, becoming the national women's coach for Malaysia and guided Wong Pei Tty-Chin Ee Hui to a gold at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.
He headed the men's doubles department in 2017 and had an influence on the burgeoning careers of two-time All-England finalists Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik.
