Five interesting facts to Know about Goh Jin Wei

The 23-year-old has a runner-up finish at the Vietnam Open 2022 as her best effort in the BWF World Tour circuit.

After the announcement from Lee Zii Jia that he is taking a break, Goh Jin Wei becomes the second-highest-ranked Malaysian singles player active in the BWF circuit. The 23-year-old from Bukit Mertajam, Penang, is currently World No. 31 in the BWF women's singles rankings. Only Ng Tze Yong (World No. 21 in men's singles) is currently ranked higher than Goh Jin Wei.

Goh Jin Wei has been on the senior scenes for quite some time. However, her transition to the seniors from the juniors hasn't been like one she would have hoped. She has struggled to break into the top 20 of the women's singles rankings and is yet to win a BWF World Tour title.

And her record in 2023 isn't very great, either. Goh Jin Wei has just five wins in 2023, the most impressive of them being her win against PV Sindhu of India in the Sudirman Cup 2023. However, her record at the juniors will give her fans and the Malaysian badminton fraternity hopes of getting to witness a comeback. 

She has won almost everything one can at the juniors at the Asian and World levels. And being only 23 years old, she has age on her side. So, let's see five interesting things we must know about the talent Goh Jin Wei is:

First senior title at the age of 15

As much as we may have made it as Goh Jin Wei not living up to the expectations at the senior level, she still has some great records to her name. The Malaysian, back in 2015, when she was a 15-year-old prodigy, won her first international title, the Belgian International. The Belgian International is a BWF International Challenge title.

Goh Jin Wei defeated Scotland's Kristy Gilmour, a much more experienced opponent who was yet to lose a final of a BWF International Challenge/Series title. Currently World No. 19 in the BWF women's singles rankings, Kristy Gilmour already had won seven BWF International Challenge/Series titles before playing Goh Jin Wei in the finals of the Belgian International in 2015.

Gold in World Junior Championships

Goh Jin Wei may not have hit the ground running in the seniors, but she was as good as they come in the juniors. The 23-year-old is a two-time World Junior Championships gold medalist. Aside from the two golds, she also has a bronze medal in the World Junior Championships. All three medals have come in three different editions of the tournament in the women's singles category, a testament to her consistency and domination in the youth circuit.

Her first World Championship gold came in 2015 when she beat compatriot Lee Ying Ying 21-15, 21-16 in the final in Peru. In the 2017 edition, she lost 9-21, 10-21 to Han Yue of China in the semi-finals in Indonesia. However, she came back to win it again in the 2018 edition, defeating Dane shuttler Line Christophersen 21-13, 21-11 in Canada.

First ever Malaysian to win gold at Youth Olympics

Goh Jin Wei added herself to the history books of Malaysia when she won the Youth Olympics gold medal at the 2018 edition of the Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina. And by doing so, she became the first ever sportsperson from the country to win gold at the Youth Olympics. Yes, not even the greatest of all time, Lee Chong Wei, had done it.

The then-18-year-old defeated China's Wang Zhiyi 16-21, 21-13, 21-19 in the finals to win the medal.

Early retirement

Goh Jin Wei had to take some time off the court in 2019 because of a stomach ailment. She had to give some tournaments a miss because of the recurring pain, which eventually made her get under the knife. She would go on to make a comeback to the BWF Circuit in 2020, but only for the condition to worsen.

Continued pain and suffering made her take an early retirement from the sport in September 2021. Appearing in a YouTube video, the then 21-year-old explained her decision of taking an early retirement. She indicated that her stomach surgery forced her to bid adieu to the sport.

Banned by Badminton Association of Malaysia

She did make a comeback to the badminton professional circuit in January 2022, but this time not as a player of the Badminton Association of Malaysia. She signed a deal with Kuala Lumpur Racquet Club to represent them as an independent player and decided to stay away from the national team as she didn't see herself fit enough to regularly compete for them.

Goh Jin Wei did, however, participate in a couple of tournaments in the BWF tournaments, which displeased the Badminton Association of Malaysia, leading the organisation to hand a two-year back-dated ban to the women's singles star. The ban was later rescinded after Goh Jin Wei submitted an appeal and promised to promote Malaysian badminton internationally. The BAM gave the 23-year-old their 'blessings' to continue participating in international events as an independent player.