Former two-time world junior champion Goh Jin Wei announced her shock retirement on Monday, barely a week after she was named as part of the upcoming Uber Cup squad by the Badminton Association of Malaysia.
The 21-year-old had struggled to rediscover her best form since undergoing surgery to remove part of her colon in 2019 due to a prolonged stomach ailment.
“The number of medications that I need to consume has increased to keep me going every day. For the sake of my own health, I have no choice but to end my career early.
“I quit with a lot of regret and unwillingness. But I believe that I can still excel in other fields in the future, as long as I am willing to work hard for it,” she was quoted saying by The Star.
Goh had oploaded a seven-minute long video on her YouTube page, explaining her abrupt exit from the sport.
Touted as one of the most promising young shuttlers in the sport not too long ago, Goh announced herself after winning two world junior titles in 2015 and 2018.
At the senior level she won the women’s singles gold at the 2017 SEA Games and also finished as runner-up at the 2016 Indonesian Masters and 2017 Chinese Taipei Open.
Before that, the Penang-born also did well at the lower ranked events by winning the Belgian International, Vietnam International Series and Orleans International.
This year, she reached the Spanish International final in June, where she was defeated by team-mate S. Kisona in straight games.
Goh’s retirement came a month after former national women’s doubles shuttler Chow Mei Kuan also decided to hang up her racquet.
