The Capstone coaching team

Learn from debaters the world already listens to.

Our coaches are elite debaters who have excelled at the highest levels of international competition as champions, best speakers and chief adjudicators. That competitive pedigree goes straight into your child’s training, because they know exactly what it takes to succeed on the global stage.

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The coaching bench

6 World-Class Coaches.

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  • Team Manager & Coach of Malaysian National Team
  • 4X Asian BP Finalist
  • 7X Top 5 Judge at varsity major debating championships
Coach 01

Mai

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 institution 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.

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  • Coached Nepal’s national WSDC team, 2022 & 2023
  • Open Finalist United Asian Debating Championship
  • Chief Adjudication Panel - Asian BP 2023 and Australasian Championship 2022
Coach 02

Srijan

Srijan holds a Bachelor’s degree 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 conducted hundreds of workshops for teachers and students at primary and higher secondary schools across Nepal.

Srijan is deeply engaged in debate education throughout South Asia, with a particular focus on Nepal. He has an extensive record as a Chief Adjudicator, serving as Deputy Chief Adjudicator (DCA) for 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 international tournaments. Notable highlights include:

  • Judging the Open Finals of the United Asian Debating Championship (UADC) in 2023, where he was ranked 6th Best Judge overall.
  • Judging the ESL Finals of the Australs Championship (2021).
  • Judging the Open Semi-finals of the North American University Debating Championships (NAUDC) in 2020.
  • Judging the Partial Double Octofinals of the World Universities Debating Championship (WUDC) in 2022.
  • Judging the EFL Pre-Quarters of ABP in 2022.

As a competitor, Srijan reached the Open Finals of the United Asian Debating Championship (UADC) 2022.

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  • 2X Asian Finalist - United Asian Debating Championships 2020 and Asian BP 2020
  • Open Quarter-finalist at the Korea World Universities Debating Championships (WUDC) 2021
  • Ex-President for the Taylors Debate Society
Coach 03

Naveen

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.

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  • Current Head Coach of Team UAE
  • Chief Adjudication Panel for World Schools Debating Championship 2024 and 2026
  • Ex-Coach of Team Morocco
Coach 04

Jami

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
  • Coached Nepal’s national WSDC team 2015
  • Nepal’s National Debate Champion 2016
  • Semi-finalist at IUB Ascension 2019
Coach 05

Saurav

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.

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  • Top 10 ESL Speaker & Quarter-finalist at WSDC 2018
  • 2x Open Break at the World Universities Debating Championship (WUDC)
  • Earned a Prestigious Full-Ride Academic & Debate Scholarship to HWS
Coach 06

Sreyan

Sreyan is widely recognized as one of the most elite debate figures to emerge from South Asia. He attended Hobart and William Smith Colleges (HWS) in New York on a prestigious full-ride scholarship, earned via his caliber as a competitive debater. At HWS, Sreyan’s leadership and public speaking prowess culminated in him serving as the President of the HWS Debate Team and being chosen as the Commencement Speaker for the Class of 2023.

As a competitive speaker, Sreyan made history as the first Bengali debater to rank among the Top 10 Speakers at the World Schools Debating Championships (WSDC). Over his career, he has captured more than 50 team and speaker awards spanning from the World University Debating Championships (WUDC) to global institutions such as Yale, Cornell, and Oxford. His expertise is deeply respected on the global circuit; he has served as the Chief Adjudicator for NAUDC and Deputy Chief Adjudicator for ABP, widely recognized as the largest and most prestigious university debating championships in North America and Asia, respectively.

Beyond competitive success, Sreyan balances his elite debate pedigree with a deep passion for pedagogy and innovative learning design. As the Head Coach of the Bangladesh National Debate Team, he designed a rigorous training curriculum that propelled the squad to an 11th-place global finish at the World Championships. Sreyan excels at creating high-impact, modern educational environments. He built custom Learning Management Systems (LMS) from scratch, designed advanced specialized speaking programs, and pioneered the integration of AI-driven tools into the classroom to scale communication learning. These technologies are now utilized by thousands of students across Asia. At the intersection of technology and elite communication, Sreyan continues to shape the next generation of global thinkers and speakers.

Coaching that comes from the podium

Real competitive experience, brought into every class

Every coach on this team has argued or adjudicated at the top level of international schools debate. They know what a strong case looks like and what a judging panel rewards, and they pass that on directly to your child.

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01

They have competed at the top level

Each coach has sat in the chairs your child is working towards, from national-team rooms to best-speaker finals. They teach the habits that hold up when a round gets tough.

02

They know how rounds are scored

Our coaches sit on chief adjudication panels at World Schools and university world championships, so they can show students exactly how to earn points from a judging panel.

03

Every student gets real feedback

Small classes and placement by assessment mean each student leaves with advice they can use in their next speech, not generic tips.