Olympic-bound Jin Wei’s perseverance puts smile on coach Nova

PETALING JAYA: Professional shuttler Goh Jin Wei (pic) is virtually assured of a place in the Paris Olympic Games despite her challenging journey.

And coach Nova Armada can’t be more prouder than that.

The world No. 27 is currently lying at the 17th spot in the Road to Paris ranking and she is set to go under the ruling that a nation can have one singles player if they ranked in the top 32 standing.

It’s no secret that the two-time world junior champion Jin Wei has been struggling to get back to top form after coming back from her stomach illness.

But the 24-year-old has never given excuses but keeps on fighting.

“A player like this is a delight to a coach, I’m really proud that she is in the running to compete in the Olympic Games,” said Nova.

“After the Uber Cup Finals (April 27-May 5) is over, we will get her to focus more in training for two months before the Games.”

For now though, Jin Wei will begin her campaign in the French Open against Wang Zhiyi of China in the first round today. She has also been entered for the All-England next week in Birmingham.

“It’s a tough opener but she knows that she has to face all the top 10 players early in these tournaments and I expect nothing but a good fight from her,” he said.

The women’s competition will see all the top guns in action, including top see An Se-young, second seed Chen Yufei of China, three-time world champion Carolina Marin of Spain, P.V. Sindhu of India and Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi.