Ee Wei to Nova: We are honoured to have had you as our coach

Toh Ee Wei penned a heartfelt goodbye to the departing national mixed doubles head coach Nova Widianto, who will return home to Indonesia end of this month.

“We respect the decision and we are truly grateful that our paths crossed. Every coach leaves a different impact, and we are happy and honoured to have had you as our coach.

“Thank you for your guidance, trust, and dedication throughout our journey. Thank you for always taking care of Team Mixed Doubles, supporting us, and helping us grow both on and off the court,” said Toh, who is currently undergoing rehabilitation after an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) surgery earlier this month.

Under Nova’s guidance since 2023, Toh and her partner Chen Tang Jie created history by becoming Malaysia’s first mixed doubles world champions when they won gold last year.

Chen-Toh continued to perform well after that by winning the Australian Open late last year, and Nova last guided them to the Indonesia Masters silverware early this year before Toh’s injury setback.

Besides Chen-Toh, Widianto also helped Hoo Pang Ron-Cheng Su Yin improve as a pair which saw them hover just outside the world top 10 ranking last year.

The 48-year-old Widianto is now scheduled to join the Indonesia national team setup as their mixed doubles coach.