'Pilot' with big dreams for young shuttlers HE'S the 'Godfather' of badminton in Singapore schools. By Al Dizon 06 March 2006 HE'S the 'Godfather' of badminton in Singapore schools. Benjamin Teh, general manager of Pilot Pen (Singapore) Private Limited, has committed the company's sponsorship dollars to advance the cause of badminton in schools for many years now. This year, Teh has pledged over $100,000 - part of the money goes to sponsoring schools and age-group tournaments, and another large chunk goes to the Singapore Sports School's Badminton Academy for scholarships, training and competition grants. Teh's love affair with badminton dates back to 1994. It began when he was the marketing manager at Pilot Pen. Teh came across the case of 11-year old Gerald Ho - who was then Singapore's best Under-12 badminton player. Ho wanted to play in the Under-14 schools tournament. But he wasn't allowed because the event was meant for secondary school students. And Ho wanted to play in the older bracket because there wasn't an individual tournament for Under-12s. Teh was moved. 'I felt our company had to come in and support Gerald and the many other kids with a similar predicament. I felt we need to encourage and help develop them.' So he approached the Ministry of Education's Extra Curricular Activities Centre to offer Pilot Pen's 'more than $10,000 worth of sponsorship' for an Under-12 tournament to be held in June of that year. The rest is history. Ho eventually made it to Singapore's Thomas Cup team in 2000. Today, the schools' badminton scene and individual age-group championships are closely identified with Pilot Pen, thanks largely to Teh's initiatives. 'In my view, individual competitions are crucial in developing the full potential of our best young shuttlers,' he says. 'That is why I have remained committed to offering assistance particularly to the schools' individual tournaments.' Indeed it is through the individual Pilot Pen tournaments that the likes of Ronald Susilo and Kendrick Lee shone through. He became even more involved in 2000 after he was invited by Wong Kai Yuen, who was then president of the Singapore Badminton Association (SBA), to stand for election as their council member. 'I thought it was a good idea because I really wanted to know how our school players are progressing beyond their school days,' Teh said. 'So I stood for election, won, and served.' For the first two years, he was just attending meetings, but at the same time it was quite common for him to be receiving calls from concerned parents of the young badminton players. 'These dedicated parents raise matters such as registration deadlines, seedings, competition dates,' he said. 'I understood that parents normally see things from their perspective, and in many cases they don't see eye to eye with what the SBA is trying to achieve.' But his patience in dealing with the concerned parents paid off. He said: 'Ultimately, I got them to understand that the principle of our seeding system is based on having the best players fight it out in the finals. 'That way, the competition is more exciting, and standards are raised. We can't have a final where the winner totally outclasses the adversary in a very lopsided manner.' SECOND TERM It was during his second term at the SBA when he decided to start playing more regurlarly. 'I went on a small-time fitness programme of running and jogging as I needed to be fit to look after our youngest child, who was just six.' His exercise routine included 10 minutes of calisthenics and stretching, and some chin-ups and push-ups. He only started playing again when he felt he was fit enough. 'I learned the basics in school, but I never really played the game regularly. But when my fellow SBA council members encouraged me to play, I picked up the racket.' Teh remembers how he played his first game, although he can't remember who was on the other side of the court. 'I was so enthusiastic that I did lots of running. I was very, very tired.' And after six months of running around the court, his right calf muscle burst. 'It caught me by surprise. I thought I had enough exercise. I learned later that what I did in the past wasn't good enough, and that I wasn't doing the correct exercises that would prepare me to play badminton safely.' It took him about two months to recover before he started playing again. Nowadays, he plays twice a week with friends at the Changi Beach Club. Sometimes, he drops by the Singapore Sports School to spar with the young badminton stars there. 'It's always nice to see how the kids are progressing from close range. 'I can even get feedback.' Teh's involvement in badminton, and his being the godfather figure of badminton in schools, looks set to continue for a long time to come.
Thanks Cooler for this interesting article. Where did you get it from? Yes, the Pilot Pen is a household name for many Singapore school badminton players. We need passionate patrons like Benjamin Teh to help promote the game locally. For your information, Gerald Ho is now studying in the prestigious Singapaore Management University (SMU) and I understand he is the captain of the varsity team. So Mr Teh's earlier interest in Gerald has not gone to waste!
yes, it was a touching story. It is great to see or hear people with power and influence like mr teh put their talent into good deeds, very rare these days. Pilot pens are pretty common here too. I use their mechanical pencils, and ball pointed felt pens. Oh i got that article just from random badminton news search.
