A COACH-LESS Paris Olympics-bound professional women’s singles shuttler Goh Jin Wei could well be the third whammy for ‘under fire’ Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh whose credibility – or rather popularity – has taken severe beating in recent times.
The former Selangor state assembly speaker who boasts strong grassroots support among folks in Subang Jaya (her previous state constituency) and now Segambut where she stands out as being both constituent-friendly/caring would have learnt the hard way that social media could well be a double-edged sword.
Once adored by netizens as a polite and soft-spoken politician – or in short, the moral face of DAP – the tide turned against her starting with political critics mocking her on every available social media channel ever since news broke out of the selection of her husband’s firm to partake the Selangor state transit system project.
As this looks to subside, last weekend’s (June 23) the ‘mishandling’ of the official attire of the Malaysian contingent for the Paris Olympics saw Yeoh being trolled/humiliated like never before on social media with accusations of “being spineless” to “only know how to tai-chi (slang for shifting blame/responsibility) to “just step down if you can’t do the job”.
And public outcry and demands for accountability only grow even louder with Jin Wei finding herself at the centre of a coaching problem that has captured the nation’s attention.
The 24-year-old Penangite recently took to social media to express her disappointment and frustration upon learning that she would have to face the challenges of the world’s most prestigious sporting event without the guidance of her coach, Nova Armada.
“Sad news, I couldn’t bring my coach along with me because of limited allocation of accreditation card,” she penned on her Instagram. “I guess I’m the only one athlete that having no coach sitting behind. That will be very weird😅”
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In her response to Jin Wei’s woes, Yeoh reasoned that Nova had other commitments, namely coaching two Paralympic athletes, namely Chieh Liek Hou and Fareez Annuar, in their final preparation stages to defend their gold medals at the Paralympic Games.
According to Yeoh, this made it impossible to fulfil Jin Wei’s request for Nova’s presence in Paris. However, the Badminton Association of Malaysia’s (BAM) deputy director of coaching Rexy Mainaky “is prepared to assist Jin Wei at the Olympics”.
Isu Goh Jin Wei mahu coach Nova ke Olimpik:
• Coach Nova merupakan jurulatih kpd 2 atlet para Cheah Liek Hou + Fareez Anuar yg sedang buat persiapan akhir di MSN utk pertahankan pingat emas di Sukan Paralimpik pada 28 Ogos – 8 Sept
• Coach Rexy akan bantu Goh Jin Wei di Olimpik— Hannah Yeoh (@hannahyeoh) June 27, 2024
However, Yeoh’s response did little to quell the rising tide of public discontent as fans and critics swamped her tweet by slamming her for what they perceived as a lack of empathy and support for one of the nation’s top athletes.
Many questioned the ministry’s priorities and wondered why a solution could not be found to ensure Goh had the coaching support she needed during such a crucial moment in her career.
Luluhnya hati bila part buat post-mortem lepas match,
“Saya akan try join dengan Jia ke atau try ask BAM ke atau other WS for other country yang sorang-sorang”
KESIAN WEI WEI ‘TERKAPAI-KAPAI’ MASA DEBUT.
TERGAMAK BUAT ATLET NEGARA SENDIRI MACAM NI.— Ree Zha (@ItsReeZha) June 28, 2024
So far, Yeoh seems to be alone to deflect the brickbats from netizens which have intensified without any DAP comrades at hand to extend any moral support – June 29, 2024
