Jacky gets lucky
PETALING JAYA: Not everyone gets the chance to train with a world champion and Olympic gold medallist, but men's singles professional shuttler Jacky Kok is one of the lucky few.
Jacky, who was part of the Malaysian team that won gold at the 2022 Asian Team Championships, is currently in Dubai training alongside Denmark's Viktor Axelsen at the Nad Al Sheba Sports Complex.
He is accompanied by fellow Malaysian Chua Kim Sheng and had been sparring with the former world No. 1 for a week.
Jacky's coach, former international Ong Ewe Hock, hopes the 21-year-old will make the most of this opportunity, saying there is much to learn from Axelsen in his quest to become a better player.
Ewe Hock also revealed that this was not Jacky's first time sparring with Axelsen, having helped the two-time world champion prepare for the Malaysian Open last year.
'Last year, when Axelsen came for the Malaysian Open, he was looking for sparring partners, and I sent Jacky.
With the legend: Jacky Kok (left) and Chua Kim Sheng posing with Viktor Axelsen at the Nad Al Sheba Sports Complex. — Jacky's Instagram
'They got to know each other then, and that led to this invitation to train with Axelsen in Dubai for a week.
'It's not easy to get this kind of opportunity, so I want him to soak up as much experience as he can, even if it's only for a short period.
'If he can observe how Axelsen trains and understands the environment there, it will help him grow in his career,' said Ewe Hock when contacted.
One of Ewe Hock's other trainees, Cheam June Wei, also had a chance to train with Axelsen in Dubai back in 2022.
At the same time, Ewe Hock shared that he was currently looking for suitable tournaments for Jacky to enter in his effort to further improve his players' world ranking.
Jacky, who was dropped from the national team at the end of last year, has been steadily climbing the world rankings and is now placed No. 75. In March, he captured the Vietnam International Challenge title.
'Now that his ranking has improved slightly, we have better chances of getting into higher-tier tournaments. The only challenge is that those events usually require more funding,' said Ewe Hock.
'But to me, that's not an issue. I've told him that as long as he performs well, the sponsors will come. The real problem is when your performance drops, that's when the sponsors walk away,' he added.
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