Badminton: Coach Wu leaves national team

The Brunei Times
Saturday, February 6, 2010

Coach Wu Xue Kai's contract has expired.

AFTER 15 years at the helm Wu Xue Kai has left his post as the head coach of the national badminton team.

The 52-year-old Wu's contract expired after last December's 3rd Borneo Games which the Sultanate hosted, and the Department of Youth and Sports decided not to continue his services.

"My contract finished last year and I handed in my letter (to continue) after that, but the department did not want to renew it," said Wu yesterday.

"I would have liked to stay but the department told me I cannot, so I have started looking for another job," added the Chinese coach.

Wu said he had no regrets and was satisfied with his tenure which started in 1994, making him one of the longest serving national coaches in Brunei.

"I am happy with my time here and the reason I took this job was to help improve badminton in Brunei," he added.

According to the national team's assistant coach Fadzli Hj Masri, Wu's greatest success was probably guiding Ak Nur Maizi Pg Othman to gold in the men's singles competition of the 1997 Arafura Games in Darwin, Australia.

Though he refused to comment on whether the Department of Youth and Sports should have renewed Wu's contract, Fadzli admitted that the coach might not be the right man for the job any longer.

"He is a good coach but there have been a lot of differences in training since he first took over," said Fadzli yesterday.