Kuala Lumpur: As the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) close in on hiring a new person to become their men’s singles coach, Malaysian media has already revealed that BAM would appoint former Indonesian player, Indra Wijaya for that position.
Wijaya played for the Indonesia national team during 1995 until 2000 along with some of the greatest Indonesian shuttlers during that era such as Ardy B. Wiranata and Hariyanto Arbi. He then moved to Singapore and represented the country in various international championships. He was part of the Indonesia men’s team that won the 1996 and 1998 Thomas Cup.
Growing up in a badminton family, his siblings such as Candra Wijaya, Rendra Wijaya and Sandrawati Wijaya were all former Indonesian national shuttlers. His brother Candra Wijaya has been rated among the best men’s doubles players in the world for over a decade, especially when he captured the men’s doubles gold medal with Tony Gunawan at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.
Indra Wijaya is currently the men’s singles coach of South Korea and is in charge of training Son Wan Ho, Lee Dong Keun and Jeon Hyeok Jin.
After joining BAM, Indra Wijaya will be responsible for coaching and developing young talents, while two other men’s singles coaches namely Hendrawan and Tey Seu Bock will put their focus on preparing Lee Chong Wei for the Rio Olympics.