New chief coach for Singapore badminton

SINGAPORE — Former national shuttler Chua Yong Joo (picture) has been appointed the new chief coach of the national badminton team, taking over from Liu Qingdong, who quit after 18 months on the job.

Chua is the fourth senior coaching staff that the Singapore Badminton Association (SBA) have hired in the last five years, following the tenures of Luan Ching (2010-2014), technical adviser Yoo Yong Sung, and Liu, who quit after the SEA Games to spend more time with his family.

Despite the upheaval in its coaching roster, the SBA is confident that Chua’s appointment will cause minimal disruption to the national team, which have already been hit by the retirements of a number of senior players.

Chua will juggle his duties as the new chief coach with his current role as director of team performance. SBA chief executive officer Ronnie Lim said yesterday that the former player — the SBA’s first-ever local-born chief coach — is a natural choice for the post.

“I think Yong Joo is more than ready to take on the job, as he has results to prove that … For us, it is about translating those results to more results to bring more medals for SBA,” said Lim.

Chua will have his work cut out for him. Two years ago, a string of poor competitive performances by the national shuttlers prompted an internal review that saw Luan and Yoo replaced by Liu.

Chua’s immediate task is to prepare the players for Olympic qualifications, as well as other major competitions. “I’ve been with the SBA for the last 14 years, so I’ve been understudying many coaches — both the Chinese and the Indonesians, as well as the local coaches,” he said. “I believe that with the experience I have, I will be able to lead our team to greater heights.” ADELENE WONG