Source:REUTERS/Chalinee Thirasupa
[Saba Sports News] After helping Singapore’s singles players win four Super 300 titles in 2025, South Korean singles head coach Ji Hyun Kim terminated her contract with the Singapore Badminton Association nine months early. The association is actively searching for a replacement to take full responsibility for the training of men’s singles players Loh Kean Yew and Teh Jia Heng (Jason), and top women’s singles player Yeo Jia Min, and to help prepare them for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
The 51-year-old Ji Hyun Kim signed a two-year contract with the Singapore association on January 1, 2025, initially serving only as women’s singles head coach before being promoted to national singles head coach. Under her guidance, Singapore’s singles players won four Super 300 titles on the 2025 BWF World Tour: Teh Jia Heng captured the Thailand Masters and the Korea Masters, while Loh Kean Yew and Yeo Jia Min won the Taipei Open and the German Open, respectively. That haul surpassed Singapore’s 2024 results, when Loh Kean Yew was the only player to win a Super 300 title (the Spain Masters). Teh Jia Heng said he learned a lot from Coach Kim.
The writer believes that although Ji Hyun Kim’s early departure was an irregular contract termination, her contribution to the improvement of Singapore’s singles results is widely acknowledged. Whether Singapore’s singles program can sustain its upward momentum will depend on the choice of her successor and the stability of the team.