PETALING JAYA: There will be no more experimental forays for Goh Jin Wei.
Her coach Nova Armada has issued a firm reminder for the shuttler to focus solely on her main discipline, the women’s singles, especially now that she is beginning to show signs of progress.
Adding to that, the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) has invited her to represent the country at the Uber Cup Finals in Horsens, Denmark from April 24-May 3.
Nova stressed that featuring in the mixed doubles would only drain her energy as she should be concentrating on one event.
The Indonesian coach said Jin Wei must stay focused as her primary mission is to qualify for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, and the groundwork must start now.
"I have spoken to her about this matter and she has agreed not to compete in mixed doubles anymore. The decision previously was made without my knowledge. She also never underwent any proper training in mixed doubles.
"I told her she needs to give her full attention because we want to prepare better than we did when she went to the Paris Olympics two years ago," said Nova.
Jin Wei had earlier surprised many when she tried her hand in the mixed doubles with Ng Eng Cheong.
Their first appearance was at the Korea Masters in November last year but they fell in the qualifying round after losing to home pair Kim Gun-min-Jo Hye-lin 16-21, 21-10, 11-21.
They also competed in the National Championships in December and reached the quarter-finals before going down to Tan Zhi Yang-Nicole Tan 12-21, 14-21.
Nova revealed that Jin Wei’s decision to venture into mixed doubles came after a sponsor approached her to cover her tournament expenses.
At the time, she also treated the mixed doubles stint as a warm up as she was unable to compete fully in the women’s singles due to a hamstring injury.
"So there will be no more mixed doubles for her. Her results in the women’s singles are improving and hopefully she can maintain that," he added.
Jin Wei will compete in the Singapore International Challenge this week where she is seeded third. The two-time world junior champion will face Hong Kong’s Saloni Mehta in the opening round.
