FORMER national No 1 women's singles shuttler Goh Jin Wei can finally afford to smile.
Just a day after criticising the BA of Malaysia (BAM) over her exclusion from the Badminton Asia Championships (BAC), the 22-year-old was included in the 12-member Uber Cup squad for centralised training, which begins tomorrow until April 23, at the Academy Badminton Malaysia (ABM) in Bukit Kiara.
Jin Wei, however, is only expected to report for training after the ongoing Korea Masters in Gwangju.
Jin Wei will face China's Wang Zhiyi, the world No 17, for a place in the quarter-finals today after having stunned world No 21 Pitthayaporn Chaiwan of Thailand in the first round on Tuesday.
The latest impressive win, coupled with last week's outstanding run to the last eight of the Korea Open, was more than enough to convince the BAM selectors to shortlist her for the Uber Cup Finals in Bangkok next month.
She was one of the six singles picked together with S. Kisona, Eoon Qi Xuan, Siti Nurshuhaini Azman, Myisha Khairul, Tan Zhing Yi and Chan Wen Tse.
BAM have certainly done the right thing by calling up Jin Wei to bolster the young and inexperienced squad.
Jin Wei's inclusion brings extensive experience to the team as she boasts two Uber Cup and Sudirman Cup caps.
The Uber Cup call-up will be an instant redemption for Jin Wei after she was overlooked for the BAC in Manila from April 26-May 1.
Jin Wei did not qualify on merit for the upgraded Super 1000 continental meet. However, BAM could have still nominated her for the tournament.
BAM coaching director Wong Choong Hann explained that he had to make a decision based on what he thought was best for the national team before the April 1 deadline.
"The staging of the BAC was not confirmed until three weeks ago, so we had a tight deadline for the submission of entries," explained Choong Hann.
"The two Korea tournaments only took place after that. Jin Wei was just about to restart her career (after coming out of retirement), and we couldn't gauge her performance until these two weeks," said Choong Hann.
"Hence, now that she has been called up for centralised training, the door is certainly wide open for her to make the final squad."
UBER CUP SQUAD
Singles: S. Kisona, Eoon Qi Xuan, Siti Nurshuhaini Azman, Myisha Khairul, Tan Zhing Yi, Chan Wen Tse.
Doubles: Pearly Tan, M. Thinaah, Anna Cheong, Teoh Mei Xing, Low Yeen Yuan, Valeree Siow.