SBA RESHUFFLE NETS KIM

S. Korea's ex-Asiad champ will become Singapore women's singles head coach

- David Lee

The Singapore Badminton Association (SBA) has secured its first major signing since reshuffling its technical staff, with the hiring of Kim Ii-hyun as its women's singles head coach.

The 50-year-old was part of South Korea's Asian Games gold-winning women's team at Hiroshima 1994, and went on to become a coach with the India, South Korea and Thailand national teams.

The two-time Olympian (Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000) also men-tored the likes of P. V. Sindhu, who became India's first badminton world champion in 2019 and, most recently, Thailand's Supanida Katethong, who rose to a career-high world No. 10 in November.

Said Kim: "I am excited to join the Singapore Badminton Association and I look forward to this new journey. I will be working hard, together with the players, to improve our skills and competitiveness on the international stage.

"I am also committed to helping nurture and develop our younger players, so that they can reach their full potential."