Tan Kim Her to be appointed Indian doubles badminton coach: Report

Tan Kim Her has earlier coached England, South Korea and Malaysia

If a report in the DNA is to be believed, then the sports ministry has, at long last, given a go-ahead for the appointment of a specialist badminton coach for doubles, ahead of the 2016 Rio Olympics.

According to the report, the ministry have zeroed in former Malaysian player Tan Kim Her to coach the Indian doubles team, until the next Olympics in Tokyo in 2020.

Speaking about the appointment, the vice-president of the Badminton Association of India(BAI) TPS Puri said that, the Malaysia was a respected figure, particularly in doubles, and has vast amount of experience, in coaching international teams.

"Tan Kim is a respected name in world badminton, especially in doubles discipline. He has been the chief doubles coach of England, South Korean and Malaysian teams. BAI believes he is the best person to take the Indian badminton in doubles event forward. He has been offered contract for five years, which means it will run till the 2020 Tokyo Games," Puri said on Wednesday.

"His salary has been agreed upon somewhere between $7,500 and $8,000 per month,” he added.

Jwala and Ashwini to not be a part of TOPS?

But the news of the arrival of a new badminton coach, also brought some disappointing news for recently-crowned Canada Open doubles champion Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa.

Despite winning the tournament and climbing up to number 7 in the doubles rankings, the duo’s request to be a part of the Target Podium Olympic Scheme(TOPS) has reportedly being declined.

Talking about the issue, Puri said that the ministry had constraints, with regards to the number of players, but assured the duo that they would continue to receive support from the federation and added they will be provided funding for exposure trips.

"The ministry has number constraint, so it would be difficult to add names of Jwala and Ashwini. The BAI would continue to support both of them like always and provide them funding for exposure trips," he said.

Jwala, in particular, had been quite vocal about the omission of her and fellow doubles partner Ashwini Ponnappa’s names from the list of players, who would receive financial support from the government for their preparation for the 2016 Rio Olympics.