New role for Loh Kean Yew’s coach Kelvin Ho from 2025, SBA to consider ‘marquee names’ to be successor

SINGAPORE: Having been instrumental in the meteoric rise of former world champion Loh Kean Yew, national singles’ head coach Kelvin Ho has now been handed a new remit – to help groom the next generation of badminton stars.
He will take over as singles head coach of the national training squad from next year, said Singapore Badminton Association (SBA) in a press release on Monday (Oct 21).
“I am honoured by this new role to groom the next generation of Olympians and world champions. It is a heavy mandate, but at the same time, a much-welcomed challenge,” said the 34-year-old, who also coaches Singapore’s top women’s singles player Yeo Jia Min.
“The fact that I have a good runway to the 2032 Olympics helps tremendously. I would have more time to refine the present system and improve the scouting of young players to join the national training squad, and who will ultimately aspire to be on the national team.”
SBA will also look into the hiring of a men’s singles and as well as women’s singles coach. Under the current framework, Ho is handling both of these roles.
“Instead of having one singles head coach for the national team, a head coach each for men’s singles and women’s singles may be appointed to provide a more rigorous focus on each of these disciplines,” said the association.
“SBA is in the process of appointing the TD (technical director), and is studying the feasibility of establishing these two singles head coach positions to be filled by marquee names.”
Additionally, SBA will be hiring a new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) as current CEO Alan Ow will be stepping down from his position at the end of the year to “focus on being more present for his family”, said the association.
Much has changed for Ho over the years.
A former national player, he made the jump to coaching and was appointed as assistant national singles coach in 2018. Ho then took over as national singles coach in April 2022.
“When I was an assistant, I didn’t have to set much direction. I just had to understand the players and support the head coach. But as a head coach, you set the direction,” he told CNA.
And while he may modestly brush off suggestions that he has a keen eye for talent, Ho had known for quite some time that Loh and Yeo had what it took.
In an interview with this reporter in 2019, Ho said that both Loh and Yeo had the potential to be “world-class”.  Back then, Loh was ranked 48th in the world, while Yeo was 32nd.
Today, the pair are currently ranked 11th and 20th respectively.
What sets them apart from their peers is their never-say-die attitude and this is what Ho is most proud of them for.
“Till today, they are still fighting for what they want, for the passion of the sport,” said Ho. “Throughout their careers there were down patches. Some people would have given up, but they didn’t … They will find ways to climb back up instead of giving up.”
Following Loh’s historic world championship win in 2021, he faced increased public scrutiny and pressure to deliver more titles. His coach too was not spared.
But this was something which Ho took in his stride.
“I need to be very clear of my job. My job is to help him improve, it is to understand him,” said Ho. “At the end of the day it is about how SBA and us work with him to improve him further.”
“(It’s) very typical when it comes to sports. When things are going well, all is well and good. But when you’re going through a rough patch, it’s always important that (national) sports associations realise that we must always be behind the players, behind the coaches,” said Ow.
“Associations can be very fast to jump on wanting to change a coach to then improve performance. But I think what is important is that we as a family must always be behind the coach. Because if we don’t support him, the players can feel it. And that is when things will not improve.”
Loh ended his title drought at the Spain Masters in March this year.
“Kelvin’s redeployment is bittersweet. He’s been a fantastic mentor and coach since I was young, and I’ll miss his guidance. However, I understand and support the association’s long-term vision,” said Loh.
“He has a proven track record of developing successful athletes, not just in terms of skills, but also in character and discipline. While I’ll miss having him by my side, I know he’s the perfect person to inspire the next generation of players. I have no doubt they’ll benefit immensely from his guidance.”
In his new role, Ho hopes to leverage the growth in the local badminton ecosystem which he believes has occurred over the past decade. 
“More people are focused on badminton, there is more interest, and it is getting more competitive locally as well. It’s good for badminton in Singapore,” he said.
Ho also hopes to be able to impart his knowledge to those coming through the ranks, and with players such as Loh as role models, unearth gems for the future.
The national training squad comprises badminton players drawn predominantly from the Junior Performance programme.
The programme is a dedicated pathway for young, talented shuttlers aiming to reach the top echelons of the sport. It focuses on identifying and nurturing players aged 12-17 years old with the potential to excel at the senior international level.
There are currently 12 singles players in the national training squad, inclusive of those in national service, said the association.
“SBA’s vision is to establish Singapore as one of the top badminton nations in the world. This requires us to consistently produce top players across all categories, and have multiple athletes ranked within the top-50 in the world,” said SBA president Lawrence Leow.
“The coaching and organisational changes are just some of the plans in motion to get us there. We trust that Kelvin’s invaluable experience and expertise will be a tremendous asset to the next generation of players.”