Paris calling: Can Jin Wei slay the giants?
KUALA LUMPUR - Professional women's singles player, Goh Jin Wei, is challenged to upset the world's top 10 players ahead of the 2024 Olympic Games.
Her coach, Nova Armada also demanded that Jin Wei maintains her stamina if she wants to rival the level of other world-class players in any tournament before going to Paris 2024.
Despite being eliminated early in the second round at the Malaysian Open 2024 yesterday, he said his charge, who is ranked 31st in the world, proved capable of giving fierce opposition to world number seven Gregoria Mariska Tunjung before losing to the Indonesian, 15-21, 22-24.
"I am satisfied (with Jin Wei's performance) because her stamina has improved and her fighting spirit is back, even though she lost, I think if she plays the rubber set there is a chance to win," he said when met after the match.
The coach from Indonesia also hopes that the 23-year-old player will be able to reach 100 per cent fitness level within three months.
Jin Wei has not fully recovered since undergoing a colectomy in 2019 due to abdominal pain.
Nova also wants to see the Penang-born player display better performance in the three major tournaments she is participating in ahead of the 2024 Olympics, namely the French Open (Super 750), the All England (Super 1000) and the Badminton Asia Championships (BAC).
The French Open is scheduled to take place from March 5-10 followed by All England from March 12-17 and the BAC from April 9-14.
The women world junior champion in 2015 and 2018 has a bright chance of qualifying for Paris 2024, after finishing 28th in Olympic qualification.
The country's next best female player in the ranking is K. Letshanaa (63), followed by S. Kisona (85) and Wong Ling Ching (93).
According to the Paris 2024 qualification criteria, there is a total of 35 quota places with one for host country and two global places are allocated for individual events.
A country can only have a maximum of two players in a singles category if both are in the top 16 at the end of the Race to Paris qualifying period scheduled on April 28. - BERNAMA
