I just finished attending a coaching course attended by ten Singaporean coaches and found out from one of them that Zhao Jianhua may be leaving Singapore for good by year-end. This came as a surprise as Zhao was recently reported to be very interested in starting a badminton school here. Maybe he has tried very hard but met with no success. Or could it be that his wife finds Singapore life too stressful, especially for their young son? Returning home to China where their in-laws are availabe to assist in many ways may be one solution. Will find out more from other sources.
- Is it surprising? China is growing by leaps and bounds whilst SEA is stagnating. By returning to China early Zhao can have first mover advantage, together with the hoards of Singaporean and Malaysians flocking to China for business.
I think both of you are probably right. Booming China with a general rise in living standards and higher income all round, especially among the educated young, offer much better opportunities. I heard that even Yang Yang has prospered tremendously, not just in his badminton-related business but more particularly in the restaurant business.
i wonder what his plan is in China. will he take up coaching? or will he continue a desk job like he had in Singapore? or just another entrepreneurial venture like his chicken rice restaurant? ah darn, that means i will never get to try his chicken rice.
Zhao Jianhua's Career Zhao Jianhua is already 38 years of age. In Jan 2001, he renewed his ties with the SBA as the men's singles coach by signing a 2-year part-time contract to replace former coach Basri Yusuf from Indonesia. He was the player-coach of the 1998 Singapore Thomas Cup team which failed to make the semi-finals of the Asian Zone qualifying rounds. With this new contract, Zhao would coach the National squad five times a week for three hours every morning. His employer had agreed to release him for his morning coaching assignments. Actually Zhao was offered a full-time contract then but he chose to concentrate on his management career with the See Hoy Chan Group, which has interests in property and financial services. (He is still working for the Group.) Zhao had retired from competitive badminton three years earlier. As many Zhao fans will know, Zhao has won many international honours, except the Olympic gold, as a badminton player. He was former world No. 1 and had won the World Cup 1985 and 1987, World Championship and World Grand Prix 1991, and was twice All-England champion 1985 and 1990 and had helped China to win the Thomas Cup thrice from 1986 to 1990. Our young player, Kendrick Lee, who was World Junior Championship 2002 Runner-Up when he was 18, must have benefited from his coaching and experience. Kendrick also had the benefit of sparring with world ranked player Ronald Susilo. After his contract was up, Zhao continued his full-time employment with the See Hoy Chan Group and in October 2002, he also ventured into business by opening a Chicken Rice restaurant with Patrick Lau, recently retired National doubles specialist, and Wong Shoon Keat, Southeast Asian Games 1983 badminton gold medalist. But I understand that they have parted ways recently and Patrick and Zhao have opened their own separate chicken rice outlets.
- Maybe he 's joining his brother-in -law's school. Zhao is an adventurous spirit. Yang sure is doing well in China, propperous for now, and developing some bad habits like people of 90s in Sing/Ma. I wonder when will all the euphoria end?
interesting that YangYang has gotten a good foothold in his equipment business while Zhao is still hopping from places to places after all these years. it seems like Zhao has less interests in badminton but instead going into business. what a waste of a badminton talent.
Hello Mr Loh I have always admire Zhao Jianhua style of playing. He is a very good player with deceptive strokes. I wish him and his family all the best. I see you are very active with SBA as well,perhaps i may know you.I believe you are attending NCAP TECHNICAL LEVEL 3.There is a new german guy who is coaching you guys rite now on and i believe Mr Wong Shoon Keat and Steven Oh is together with you.I would love to join you guys but i m not qualified yet.I have only completed level 1 on Ncap Theory and Technical.I hope to learn more from you guys. Cheers
Hi Scanner Thank you for your interest. I'm glad you have attended the Level I coaching course and I hope you will continue to update and upgrade yourself. Yes the two gentlemen you mentioned are members of a 10-student class organized by the SBA. There are a number of ex-national players, many of whom are professional coaches. I'm only a social player who is just interested in badminton. I must say that this is the best organized SBA course that I have attended. We had lots of fun together. The course instructor has many years of experience in badminton coaching. He is none other than Mr Gunter Huber, 54, Canada's National Coach from 1997-2003. He was also once the National Coach for Switzerland and his own country, Germany and is now an instructor with the IBF. He also conducts the Level I and II courses, starting today, for the SBA. We greatly benefited from his wide experience for 5 full days.
Hi Loh Were you at the SBA old hall last nite for the course? I met Indra Wijaya,Irene,Siew Lian,Liu Zhen,Malik,Eric ,Jack,Russell and Leonard,some of them i don't know them at all.Are you one of those guys there?I was suppose to be in that group but somehow they did not accept my application and i met one of the guy who was in the same batch as me from Level 1,i was scratching my head and i asked him how come you get to join the course and mine was rejected,they will only allow me to take next year because the rules says so. He told me you have to keep pushing for it and write them lots of letters,i don't have the stamina for that anyway next year is not very far away,in the meantime i guess just have to wait for my turn. Cheers
Hi Scanner Sorry to learn you missed the Level 2 course. I understand that they can accept a max of 20 trainees. Of course, they also have other requirements. I did go over to the SBA at about 7.10 pm. to take a look. I caught a glimpse of Irene (Shoon Keat's wife) in the classroom, but I don't think I know the other people. Did you see them while they are doing practicals in the hall? That must be about 9 p.m. Yes, I believe the SBA will continue to organize such courses, but Huber may not be the instructor. I understand from him that after his contract with the IBF, probably by mid-2004, he may be staying back in Germany to help one of the Provincial sports associations. He may not be involved in badminton only but in other sports as well as he has a Masters degree in physical education, I think.
Maybe u did see me but just don't know who am i. I was carrying a red Yonex bag standing at the entrance talking to Indra Wijaya.I was there till 7.15 pm than went off for my game.I guess if Mr Huber is not around is either Mr Lok or some other european coaches will be taking over.
hi Scanner were u the one who help Mr Wong trained the younger player on the 1st Nov Sat from 4 to 6 at SBA?
You should consider yourself lucky because not many ppl get to pick up shuttles for him. He is quite selective you know what i mean. Do you want to tell me who are you and your actual name,i buy you coffee if you tell me.
thanks for the offer Scanner, but really i am just another parent sitting there watching and hoping that one day my daughter will make it to the national sq hahaha
