Jin Wei, 15, said her success at the world championships would be the start of her career towards becoming a matured player who can seriously improve from time to time.
“If I could improve my performance, I am confident of being among the world’s 10 players before my 20th birthday…but I’ll try the quest step by step and would not rush and add too much pressure on myself.
“I will continue to excel in badminton…not to be big-headed. Mindset is to continue achieving success as it is most important,” she said when met by reporters upon her arrival at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) here today.
As the youngest national badminton star, Jin Wei made history by becoming the first Malaysian woman to be crowned World Junior Badminton champion in Lima, Peru, on Sunday.
She defeated compatriot, Lee Ying Ying who is three years older in the final and when recalling the historic moment, Jin Wei, a Form 3 student of Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Sri Hartamas said her confidence was boosted when she advanced to the semi-finals.
“At the start, I did not expect to defeat other talented players from China, Thailand and Japan. My target before the competition was to only reach the quarter-finals. When I qualified for the semi-finals, my morale was lifted,” she said adding that her next assignment would be the Asean Schools Games in Brunei from Nov 21-29.
Meanwhile, acting Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) president Tan Sri Mohamed Al Amin Abd Majid when met by reporters said the careers of two talented players, Jin Wei and Ying Ying was on the right track and the association would ensure the progress of the two players.
“BAM is proud of the success of the two players. They have created history in the country’s badminton arena. We want to see Jin Wei and Ying Ying bring honours to the country.
“Before this, we have been talking of a dire lack of young talented players. Obviously the management and coaches will look into their training programmes for bigger things to come,” Al-Amin said. – BERNAMA
