December 08, 2021, 11:18 AM
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Passionate badminton fans may have seen national shuttler Loh Kean Yew's badminton coach, Kelvin Ho, beating his chest during his games.
Ho has apparently done this so vigorously that he cramped up from it, he revealed in an interview posted on the Singapore National Olympic Council's (SNOC) website.
Court-side cheerleader
Kelvin Ho and Loh Kean Yew at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Image from SgOlympics/IG.
In the SNOC interview, the coach likened his action of beating his chest to something a gorilla might do.
He revealed that he does it to let Loh know he's there to support and motivate him throughout the match.
Ho added that with Loh playing in major badminton games including the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, he could be overwhelmed with emotions and lose his focus amid the game.
So, he becomes Loh's cheerleader, reminding him to be brave during critical moments.
From left to right: Yeo Jiamin, Kelvin Ho and Loh Kean Yew. Image from SgOlympics/IG.
Once a national shuttler
Before turning to coach, Ho wanted to be a professional badminton player and previously represented Singapore at the 2009 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.
Ho quit school at the age of 17 to pursue his dream, according to the recent SNOC interview.
A letter published in 2011 on The Straits Times (ST) also revealed that Ho committed to becoming a full-time shuttler despite his father's objection.
At age 21, he was however told to leave by the Singapore Badminton Association (SBA) as he was "too old to make it to world-class excellence", according to a 2011 ST's report.
A dedicated and passionate coach
Now, Ho, who is 31 this year, is the SBA singles' assistant coach and under his wings are some of Singapore's top badminton players like Loh and Yeo Jia Min.
He's also coached other players at the SEA Games in 2015 and 2019 and at the Youth Olympic Games and Commonwealth Games in 2018.
SBA’s technical manager and former national shuttler, Jiang Yanmei, described Ho as a dedicated and passionate coach, according to the SNOC interview.
Ho added that coaching national athletes does not come without difficulties.
He said in the SNOC interview that one of his biggest challenges as a coach is trying to convince his players to trust his game plan, and this does not happen overnight.
Ho will talk to players and walk them through what he has planned so that they can understand and accept his strategy.
The game plan for Loh this year was to improve his fitness, focusing particularly on his speed and strength in the games.
That game plan seems to work out well as Loh came in second place at the Indonesia Open men's singles, losing only to world number two and Olympic gold medallist Viktor Axelsen in the finals after a valiant match lasting 59 minutes.
Following which, he has also reached a new career-high, now ranking 20th in the world.
In tribute to Ho, Loh wrote on Instagram: "Thank you Coach Kelvin for all that you have done for me and Singapore badminton."
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Top image from SgOlymics/IG and Loh Kean Yew/IG. H/T: Singapore Olympics
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