THE BEST OF ASIA’S JUNIORS: KOK JING HONG OF MALAYSIA (Nickname: Jacky)
Born in 2002 in Kedah, Malaysia, the 18-year-old is on the rise to become one of Malaysia’s best badminton player. He is currently 3rd on the BWF Junior Ranking for Men’s Singles and, fun fact, is a left-handed player.
His interest in badminton started when he was small. Back then, Jing Hong used to watch his older siblings play and when he was only 6 years old, he decided to be like them and take badminton classes. He was so good that at 7 years old, he played against players that were around 50 years older than him! Because of this, he went on to participate in Junior tournaments.
In 2010 he won the BAKTI Boys’ Singles U8, becoming his first ever championship win. He then continued to win medals, racking up the Penang Tournament Boys’ Singles U9 and Boys’s Doubles U12. Fun fact: Jacky and his partner (Muhammad Erfin bin Abdul Rahman) were 9 years old when they defeated their 12-year-old rivals!
To better improve himself, he was then coached by Quan An Yang (former Kedah state player), and then in 2014, entered Astro Kem Badminton in Kuala Lumpur that provided an intensive training program. Their strength in badminton lead him to train in Li Yongbo Badminton Academy in China (Li Yongbo was the former head coach of the Chinese National Badminton Team). He was so impressive that Jing Hong was awarded 'Best Player’ in Li Yongbo’s academy. After the program, he returned back and joined the Bukit Jalil Sports School and now trains in Malaysia.
He continues to impress as he also won the Yonex Junior Championship U17 South Korea a few years ago. Recently in March, he won the Yonex German Junior Open Boys Singles, against Alvi Wijaya Chairullah from Indonesia (21-15, 21-15) in only 25 minutes right before his 18th birthday! “I still have a lot to improve if I were to contend for medals in the upcoming two junior meets. I will not rest on my laurels just because I have won a title” Kok Jing Hong on his German Junior Open Win.
We’re so excited to see him thrive again!
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