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KUALA LUMPUR: Newly appointed national men's doubles coach Herry IP revealed that he had received coaching offers from badminton powerhouse China, as well as a few other top nations, before being approached by Malaysia.
China, with several top class pairs in their stable, have been guided for the last five years by Kang Kyung Jin but the former South Korean coach completed his tenure at the end of last year.
With three pairs — world No. 3 Liang Wei Keng-Wang Chang, He Ji Ting-Ren Xiang Yu (No. 6) and Chen Bo Yang-Liu Yi (No. 14) — and a few other back-up combinations coming up the ranks, Herry had the ingredients to work with China's power-packed squad.
At the same time, the 63-year-old Herry also had offers from Thailand and India but decided to take up the offer from Malaysia which the veteran coach was comfortable with the established pool available at the BA of Malaysia (BAM) set-up.
However, Herry was more at home with the Malaysian environment and had accepted immediately the national coaching director Rexy Mainaky, his former Indonesia BA (PBSI) colleague, made an offer.
"I have had offers from China while Thailand had approached me twice and India were also interested in hiring me. But I chose Malaysia as it was alost like working in Indonesia," said Herry.
"Malaysian pairs have narrowed down the gap with the top Indonesian pairs and the playing style is also almost similar.
"There are already a few pairs in the top 20 and this is another encouragement to start the work right away."
Herry had also prioritised coming to Malaysia as it was closer to home in Jakarta and easier to keep in touch with his family.
"Malaysia is closest to Indonesia where I can keep in touch with my family and friends. The culture, food and language will help me adapt faster," added Herry.
It will be the first time Herry will be working outside his country, after serving as junior coach under PBSI from 1993-1998 and as a senior coach from 1999-2024.
Herry will start his duties at the BAM on Saturday.