Ireland Appoints Yeoh Seng Zoe as New National Singles Coach

Badminton Ireland has quickly filled the gap left by Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin, appointing another former Malaysian shuttler, Yeoh Seng Zoe, as the new national singles coach.

Seng Zoe is no stranger to Ireland. He has spent the past four years there and even captured the Irish Open title in 2021. He originally joined as a sparring partner to help Iskandar prepare Nhat Nguyen for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, and later progressed into the national coaching setup, eventually becoming a performance coach.

On Monday, Badminton Ireland confirmed that Seng Zoe will now take over Iskandar’s role, with hopes that the 27-year-old will continue building on the solid foundation laid by his predecessor.

“Iskandar has been an outstanding coach whose passion and dedication brought strong results. We wish him all the best as he returns to Malaysia for a new opportunity,” Badminton Ireland said in a statement.

Interestingly, they also noted that Seng Zoe will continue working alongside Iskandar in the singles programme for now, as they reassess their coaching structure in the coming months.

Last year marked a high point for Irish badminton, with Nhat Nguyen and Rachael Darragh both qualifying for the Paris Olympics. Nguyen’s Olympic debut was promising despite not making it past the group stage. Under Iskandar’s guidance, he also clinched back-to-back Irish Open titles, starting in 2023.

Seng Zoe is not the only Malaysian involved in Ireland’s badminton growth. Mohd Izzuddin Shamsulmuzli, previously with Nusa Mahsuri, is currently working with Ireland’s junior squad.

Meanwhile, Iskandar has returned to Malaysia, where he’s been appointed by the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) as the new national women’s singles coach, filling a role that had been vacant since Jeffer Rosobin’s resignation in February.