The World’s Best Debate Coaches.

Mai holds a first-class law degree from the University of Technology MARA in Malaysia. A thought leader in Asian debating, she previously held the position of Chief Executive Officer of the Malaysian Institute for Debate and Public Speaking, the Head of Debate at the largest debate academy in South Korea, the Convenor of the World Universities Debating Championship and the Chair of Asia BP Council. Currently, she serves as the Team Manager and Head Coach of WSDC Team Malaysia.

Mai has actively coached in Malaysia, South Korea and Hong Kong, with over fifty of her students qualifying for national teams across seven different countries. She is also deeply engaged in debate education throughout Asia, having hosted workshops and training camps in Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Bangladesh, Hong Kong, Macao, China, and South Korea.

Aside from being the first Malaysian to achieve the milestone of being Asia’s Best Speaker at the United Asians Debating Championship (UADC), Mai also holds the record of being the only speaker to have spoken at four Asian BP finals. A tested judge, she has served the community at over 30 adjudication teams including Australs, Asia BP, UADC and ASDC, earning the recognition as a Top 5 Judge at varsity majors seven times. Mai retired from competitive debating with a total 18 championship titles and over 90 speaker awards to her name.

Tamkeen read Human, Social, and Political Sciences (HSPS) Tripos at the University of Cambridge, where she also served as the Head of Debating for the prestigious Cambridge Union. Tamkeen’s competitive career highlights include representing the Pakistan National Debate Squad (2018) and the impressive feat of winning both the U-17 and U-19 All-Pakistan National Championships in 2017. She also earned Best Speaker and reached the Quarterfinals of the Eurasian Schools Debating Championships in 2018. Demonstrating her commitment to fostering the next generation of debaters, Tamkeen coached the historically successful Sri Lankan World Schools team in 2024, a program renowned for its World Finals appearance and dominance in South Asian debating.

Tamkeen’s judging expertise is internationally recognized and highly sought after. She served on the Chief Adjudication panel for the World Schools Debating Championship in 2023 (Vietnam WSDC) and has served as Chief Adjudicator at virtually every major international schools competition, including Asian World Schools, Cambridge Schools, LSE Schools, the Oldham Cup, and more. Notably, she was Grand Finals Chair at the Netherlands WSDC 2022 and judged the Open Grand Finals at the World Universities Debating Championship in 2022 (Belgrade WUDC). Her judging experience extends deep into the elimination rounds of numerous other prestigious schools and university tournaments. 

Further showcasing her leadership within the debating community, Tamkeen chaired the WSDC Motions Committee in 2022. Her coaching prowess is evident in the success of her students, many of whom have qualified for national teams representing countries such as Pakistan, England, Singapore, Hong Kong, and China.

Srijan holds a Bachelor’s in Civil Engineering from the Advanced College of Engineering and Management in Nepal. A prominent figure in South Asian debating, he has coached Nepal’s National World Schools Debating Championship Team for two consecutive years (2022 and 2023). He has actively coached throughout Nepal, conducting hundreds of workshops for both teachers and students at primary and higher secondary schools.

Srijan is deeply engaged in debate education within South Asia, primarily in Nepal. He has an extensive record as a Chief Adjudicator, having served as the DCA for both the Asian British Parliamentary Debating Championship (ABP) in 2023 and the Australs Championship in 2022. A highly sought-after judge, he has adjudicated at numerous prestigious tournaments, including judging the Open Finals of the United Asians Debating Championship (UADC) in 2023, where he was also ranked as the 6th Best Judge. His judging experience also includes the ESL Finals of the Australs Championship in 2021, the Open Semi-finals of the North American University Debating Championships (NAUDC) in 2020, the Partial Double Octofinals of the World Universities Debating Championship (WUDC) in 2022, and the EFL Pre-Quarters of ABP in 2022. Srijan’s competitive debating achievements include reaching the Open Finals of UADC 2022.

Naveen hails from Taylor’s University in Malaysia, where they graduated with a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) with a focus on commercial and criminal law. They served as the Vice President, and then was unanimously elected as the President for the Taylors Debate Society during their time in university. Naveen’s debating career began as a young high school student that aimed to work their way to the top through hard work and effort; and these efforts paid off when Naveen was selected to represent Malaysia at the World Schools Debating Championship, whereby their first ever competitive run at the competition ended with them ranking as an Open Octofinalist. 

As Naveen made the transition to varsity debating, they were able to become the first Asian team in history to rank first after eight preliminary rounds at the Australasian Debating Championship in 2020, whereby Naveen also ranked as the Third Best Open Speaker in all of Australasia and ended their run as an Open Semi-finalist. In the same year, Naveen emerged as a Finalist at the United Asians Debating Championship and the Asian British Parliamentary debating championship, where they bagged Top Speaker awards in both competitions. Naveen also ranked as a Top Speaker and was an Open Semi-finalist at the Cambridge Intervarsity Debating Championship, as well as the Princeton Intervarsity Debating Championship. 

The culmination of Naveen’s career ended with them ranking as an Open Quarter-finalist at the Korea World Universities Debating Championships (WUDC) in 2021. Since then, Naveen has worked professionally as a debate instructor in Malaysia and China where their students have gone on to win numerous championships, including the NSDA USA Nationals Debating Championship Championship (Middle School Category) in 2023. Naveen is also certified as a TEFL teacher, and as a trainer, they hope to create an environment that holds students to a standard that their best self would expect of them – while also creating an environment that is safe and open for all students.

Jami holds a Bachelor of Social Science degree in Global Studies and Governance from Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB). Jami brings over five years of experience as a debate instructor, working with students across Asia (Bangladesh, Thailand, Vietnam, South Korea), the Middle East (UAE), and North Africa (Morocco). His students later went on to represent their national teams, such as Team Bangladesh, Team UAE, and Team Morocco at the World Schools Debate Championship (WSDC), the annual highest-level competition of global school debating.

Jami is currently the Head Coach of Team UAE. Previously, he coached Team Morocco; and assisted national team selections of Brazil and Vietnam. Additionally, he served on the Chief Adjudicators Panel at the WSDC 2024 (Serbia). Jami served on the Motions Committee twice of the WSDC in 2023 and 2024 (Vietnam and Serbia). In community service, he has served on Equity Officer roles at Asian major tournaments as the United Asian Debate Championship (UADC) and Asian British Parliamentary (ABP). Currently, Jami serves on the Board of Directors of the World Schools Debate Championship Limited, registered under UK company house. 

Aside from coaching debate teams, Jami has been on the Chief Adjudicator Panel for 37+ competitions, spanning Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas. He has also judged outrounds in 75+ competitions around the world, including at the ABP, European Universities Debating Championship (EUDC), and Oxford-Cambridge-LSE InterVarsity Championships. As a speaker, Jami received speaker awards in World Schools Debate Championship & spoke in outrounds at the World Universities Debate Championship. He was the first national curriculum (Bangla) school representative in the history of WSDC Team Bangladesh. 

Saurav is a graduate of the University of Nottingham Malaysia, with a background in Literature and Linguistics. Deeply committed to the power of language and persuasion, he believes that education, when done right, can unlock critical thinking and shape confident individuals, especially through early exposure to debating.

Saurav has won numerous tournaments at home and reached prestigious positions in several others across Asia, both as a debater and a judge. He is the winner of MahaSangram 2016, Tech Debates 2018, YuwaYug 2017, and was Best Speaker in each of them along with more than five other competitions. Saurav was a finalist at UT Mara Open 2019 and Monash Sustainability Debate Open 2019, and a semi-finalist at IUB Ascension 2019, AODC 2020, and BDC Digital Discourse 2020.

Saurav’s involvement in the debating scene spans many years. He is one of the pioneers of the Nepalese debating community and has trained hundreds of students, playing a key role in building and strengthening the country’s debate culture. Saurav coached Nepal for the World Schools Debating Championships in 2015, led selections in 2018, and has since mentored several other national teams. He has served as Adjudication Core in numerous tournaments including BDO Nepal (2017 & 2018), AKDC 2015, and the National Debate Fest 2016, and has judged finals at ESDC Turkey, IMU Open Malaysia, and chaired the Grand Novice Finals at Pre-Worlds 2018 in Dhaka.

He is one of the most celebrated trainers and early pioneers in Nepal’s debating community, having trained hundreds of students nationwide. As a key figure in its formative years, he contributed to early international exposure, adding to Nepal’s growing presence on the global debating stage. His experience extends beyond Nepal, having trained students in Cambodia, Malaysia, and Thailand. Across these platforms, he has focused on shaping school and university-level debaters for the rigors of competitive parliamentary debate.

Beyond debate, Saurav has worked extensively as a public speaking and development trainer, serving as an executive at a prominent NGO in Nepal. He has trained hundreds in community engagement and spoken at regional conferences and advocacy platforms on education and empowerment.

Saurav views education as a life-changing force that still remains unevenly implemented. He is a committed lifelong educator.