SBA has signed on star coach Kim Ji Hyun to focus on better preparing its women’s singles players for success at the top-tier international tournaments and the major Games. Ji Hyun will commence her appointment as women’s singles head coach on 1 January 2025.
Kim, a formidable South Korean badminton singles player herself in the 1990s, won an Asian Games women’s team gold medal in 1994. She competed in the 1996 and 2000 Summer Olympics, and also won gold at the 1989 World Junior Championships. As Pusarla V. Sindhu’s coach in 2019, she was instrumental in Sindhu’s historic journey to becoming India’s first badminton player to be crowned world champion. She has previously coached the Thai national team before taking on the role of mentoring players like Supanida Katethong who reached her career-high ranking of world number ten.
Coach Kim said: “I’m excited to join the Singapore Badminton Association and I look forward to this new journey. I will be working hard, together with the players, to improve our skills and competitiveness on the international stage. I’m also committed to helping nurture and develop our younger players, so that they can reach their full potential.”
President of SBA, Mr Lawrence Leow, said: “It is a coup to have Ji Hyun join us in Singapore. Her extensive experience and proven coaching track record add to the richness and depth of our coaching team which includes head coaches Paulus Firman and Kelvin Ho. We certainly hope she can help us produce not just one but a few female world champions and Olympic medalists!”
