Kuala Lumpur: In the hope of reviving the glory days of Malaysia badminton, the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) have installed Lin Dan’s junior coach – He Guoquan as the men’s singles coach for Malaysia.
He Guoquan was a badminton player for the Guangxi province of China, after a short stint with the Chinese national team, he became the badminton coach for the Bayi People’s Liberation Army team. During the visit to a youth badminton tournament at Hangzhou in 1992, he was impressed by Lin Dan’s competitiveness, and tried repeatedly to recruit Lin Dan to Bayi. He promised Lin Dan’s parents that if they allowed Lin Dan to train under him in Bayi, he would groom Lin Dan to become a World Champion. Lin Dan’s family were eventually moved by He Guoquan’s sincerity, and agreed to let Lin Dan to train with him. In October 1995, the 12-year-old Lin Dan officially completed his transfer to Bayi from Fujian province sports school. He Guoquan trained Lin Dan from the age of 12 to 18, and has helped built solid foundations for the guy who now became known as the best men’s singles badminton player of all time.
The BAM secretary Ng Chin Chai also confirmed that He Guoquan will start his job in October.
“He has an impressive credentials. He played an important role in Lin Dan’s teenage life. He was here on Wednesday, and he agreed to assist us in the singles department,” said Ng Chin Chai.
However, BAM is still in the process of finalizing the scope of responsibility of He Guoquan.
“We don’t know where he would coach yet, we may let him start coaching our young players in the Bukit Jalil Sports school first,” added Ng Chin Chai.
