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03-08-2005, 05:36 PM
TheStar
KUALA LUMPUR: Badminton's Yap Kim Hock added another feather to his cap when he was named as the national men's Coach of the Year for 2004 last night.
Kim Hock got the nod over five other coaches - R. Dhanaraj (taekwondo), Mazlan Shaari (silat), V. Subramaniam (athletics), Ahmad Amedza Arshad (squash) and Zamil Murad (shooting).
However, the selection panel could not decide on a winner from the list of four nominees in the women's category – Lim Lay Sim (netball), Hasnah Kasim (lawn bowls), Tan Ai Ling (artistic gymnastics) and S. Vasugi (taekwondo).
Badminton coaches took the limelight at the awards ceremony at the Legends Hotel here last night with veteran coach Moe Chin Kiat finally getting recognition for his contributions to the sport.
THE SPECIAL ONE: Veteran coach Moe Chin Kiat (right) receiving the Special Coach Award fron Youth and Sports Ministry's parliamentary secretary S. Vigneswaran.
Chin Kiat, who has been developing talent for Selangor and the country for more than 30 years, received the Special Coach Award.
Chin Kiat, who is affectionately called cikgu or ciku by his students, is currently involved with training disabled shuttlers under the Malaysia Paralympic Council (MPC).
For Kim Hock, who is now the Badminton Association of Malaysia's (BAM) chief coach, the award is seen as a boost to his relatively short coaching career of four years.
He is currently with the national team for the All-England Championships, which begin today.
“Getting this award is a pleasant surprise for me,” said Kim Hock in a telephone interview from Birmingham last night.
“It is an honour to be named as the top coach but I still have a long way to go.
“This will spur me on to work harder to help bring glory to Malaysia in badminton. I hope my charges will win the world or Olympic title.”
The BAM secretary, Gangga Rao, received the award on behalf of Kim Hock last night.
Kim Hock, who was the 1996 Atlanta Olympics men's doubles silver medallist together with Cheah Soon Kit, took up coaching duties after ending his playing career in the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
He became a coach with Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) and his charges – Jack Koh-Tan Bin Shen and Koo Kien Keat-Ong Soon Hock – emerged as the runners-up and semi-finalists respectively in the 2002 World Junior Championships in South Africa.
Kien Keat-Soon Hock also bagged the Asian junior boys’ doubles title in the same year.
Last year as the national team's doubles coach, he helped Choong Tan Fook-Lee Wan Wah win the Malaysian Open title.
The pair finished as the runners-up in the All-England and were ranked world number one in the run-up to the then Olympics last August.
Sabah coach Tie Mee Kiong, who had brought up the country's top swimmer, Lim Keng Liat, won the national women's development award. The men's award went to athletics' Ithnin Mahadi.
All the winners except for the Special Coach Award received RM5,000 each.
KUALA LUMPUR: Badminton's Yap Kim Hock added another feather to his cap when he was named as the national men's Coach of the Year for 2004 last night.
Kim Hock got the nod over five other coaches - R. Dhanaraj (taekwondo), Mazlan Shaari (silat), V. Subramaniam (athletics), Ahmad Amedza Arshad (squash) and Zamil Murad (shooting).
However, the selection panel could not decide on a winner from the list of four nominees in the women's category – Lim Lay Sim (netball), Hasnah Kasim (lawn bowls), Tan Ai Ling (artistic gymnastics) and S. Vasugi (taekwondo).
Badminton coaches took the limelight at the awards ceremony at the Legends Hotel here last night with veteran coach Moe Chin Kiat finally getting recognition for his contributions to the sport.
THE SPECIAL ONE: Veteran coach Moe Chin Kiat (right) receiving the Special Coach Award fron Youth and Sports Ministry's parliamentary secretary S. Vigneswaran.
Chin Kiat, who has been developing talent for Selangor and the country for more than 30 years, received the Special Coach Award.
Chin Kiat, who is affectionately called cikgu or ciku by his students, is currently involved with training disabled shuttlers under the Malaysia Paralympic Council (MPC).
For Kim Hock, who is now the Badminton Association of Malaysia's (BAM) chief coach, the award is seen as a boost to his relatively short coaching career of four years.
He is currently with the national team for the All-England Championships, which begin today.
“Getting this award is a pleasant surprise for me,” said Kim Hock in a telephone interview from Birmingham last night.
“It is an honour to be named as the top coach but I still have a long way to go.
“This will spur me on to work harder to help bring glory to Malaysia in badminton. I hope my charges will win the world or Olympic title.”
The BAM secretary, Gangga Rao, received the award on behalf of Kim Hock last night.
Kim Hock, who was the 1996 Atlanta Olympics men's doubles silver medallist together with Cheah Soon Kit, took up coaching duties after ending his playing career in the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
He became a coach with Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) and his charges – Jack Koh-Tan Bin Shen and Koo Kien Keat-Ong Soon Hock – emerged as the runners-up and semi-finalists respectively in the 2002 World Junior Championships in South Africa.
Kien Keat-Soon Hock also bagged the Asian junior boys’ doubles title in the same year.
Last year as the national team's doubles coach, he helped Choong Tan Fook-Lee Wan Wah win the Malaysian Open title.
The pair finished as the runners-up in the All-England and were ranked world number one in the run-up to the then Olympics last August.
Sabah coach Tie Mee Kiong, who had brought up the country's top swimmer, Lim Keng Liat, won the national women's development award. The men's award went to athletics' Ithnin Mahadi.
All the winners except for the Special Coach Award received RM5,000 each.