Badminton: Singapore's next generation of shuttlers tipped to be 'world class' 20-year-old Yeo Jia Min (left) and 21-year-old Loh Kean Yew are currently Singapore's highest ranked singles badminton players. (Photo: Matthew Mohan) By Matthew Mohan 10 Apr 2019 06:49AM (Updated: 10 Apr 2019 02:20PM) SINGAPORE: During one of her family vacations many years ago, Mrs Judy Yeo had concerns that her young daughter would smash up the hotel room. Not because she was mischievous by nature, but because of the badminton racket that her daughter Jia Min had taken along. "We went to Taiwan, and she brought her racket ... She was hitting the wall (with a shuttlecock) and I was like so afraid she would break the glass and the mirror," said Mrs Yeo. From there we knew that she really loved the game and as parents, we support her all the way." Years later, the 20-year-old continues to stash a racket in her luggage during holidays - such is her devotion to the sport. "When we go for holidays, if she sees that there's a gym, she would go, if not she will just do her own running. Her racket travels with her," said her mother. "As sportsmen and women, our job has got to do with our bodies - taking care of our bodies, to make sure we are injury-free," Yeo added. "Even if we are on holiday, we still not really on holiday." It is this determination to hone her craft that has seen Yeo rise through the ranks to become Singapore's top-ranked female shuttler. "I enjoy doing sports, so I don’t think its a sacrifice," said Yeo, currently 32nd in the world. "I enjoy going to training, I enjoy constantly improving myself. I still enjoy it now and I thank God that I do because it is what I do every day." From the wide-eyed seven-year-old who would pester her parents for a game of badminton, Yeo is now the battle-hardened 20-year-old who her coach believes could be one of the "rising stars" in the badminton world. "Jia Min still needs to grow in terms of game plan and her winning mentality has to be more consistent," said national singles' coach Kelvin Ho. "We have to very patient with her but she has the potential to become one of the few rising stars in the senior circuit." Yeo's journey started on the badminton courts of Assumption English School, where she would watch the shuttlecock whiz back and forth as her parents and their friends enjoyed a casual game. "When we finished our match and then we wanted to rest, she would be calling us to play with her," said her mother. "Because our age, we could be playing all the time - we needed the time between breaks to rest. "We saw one coach there and we sent her to the coach. That’s how it started ... We just packed her off, it wasn’t like intentional, like get her started on proper training. We just wanted her not to bug us!" While other children would scamper off after their training sessions, Yeo would sit by the sidelines, absorbing how others played the game. "The coach told me that this child, there is something different he sees," explained Mrs Yeo. "She would ask the coach how to do this and how to do that, the coach would say not yet - that’s like another level." It turned out that Yeo had a knack for the game, and within months, she was competing in a local competition. And in 2017, at the age of 18, the Singapore Sports School graduate climbed all the way to the top of the Badminton World Federation (BWF)'s world junior rankings. Yeo Jia Min poses for a photograph. (Photo: Matthew Mohan) "What has not changed from the day she picked up the racket is her love for the game, her determination, her discipline. It’s in her," said Mrs Yeo. "It wasn’t which something we had to encourage - to go for training, wake up early. It’s really her love for the game." Having made the jump to the senior circuit, Yeo has set for herself a number of "small goals" which she hopes to achieve in the months to come. These include improving on her game play and physicality. "I think everything needs to start from small progress," she said. "People will give expectations based on our performance, definitely everybody would want to improve their best and get a medal at every games. "Specifically, I hope to break through to the top 15 in the world by this year or before the Olympics." YOUNG AND DANGEROUS Yeo is not the only weapon in Singapore's badminton arsenal. Ranked 48th in the world, 21-year-old Loh Kean Yew is currently the Republic's highest ranked men's shuttler. The boyish Loh made headlines for beating two-time Olympic champion Lin Dan in the Thailand Masters finals in January, but wants to move on from that result. "It's been quite a big hoo-ha, even though it was not that big of a thing," he said. Looking long-term, Loh is keen to reiterate that he still has the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in his sights. "It's not going to be easy because the Olympics' men's singles qualification is extremely competitive," said Loh. "I have to work towards qualifying first." Both 20-year-old Yeo Jia Min (right) and 21-year-old Loh Kean Yew have what it takes to be "world class", said national singles coach Kelvin Ho. (Photo: Matthew Mohan) As part of the national set-up, Yeo and Loh frequently travel abroad for competitions and give each other input on their performance on the court. This helps them improve their game play, said Loh. "We are always encouraging each other," he said. "If she watches me play, she'll tell me what I did wrong. If I watch hers, I would do the same." Next up for Yeo is the Singapore Open, where she is slated to face Indonesia's Ruselli Hartawan on Wednesday (Apr 10). Her compatriot Loh failed to make it past the qualification round on Tuesday, having lost to Hong Kong's Lee Cheuk Yiu 21-16, 21-17. "I'm definitely disappointed but I have to keep learning," said Loh. "I'm quite sad that I can't get to play more matches in front of the home crowd but I have to work harder." Regardless of what happens at the star-studded Singapore Open which will see the likes of Lin and women's world number one Tai Tzu Ying compete, both players still have a role to play as Singapore's shuttlers battle to gain a foothold on the fiercely competitive global scene. "The future is exciting for Singapore badminton and they will be role models for younger players to follow," said coach Ho. "Both of them have what it takes to be world class, but they have to grow up mentally compared to the top players, and learn how to manage themselves on and off court better." He'll be pleased to note that neither of the duo have any plans to rest on their laurels. "I still have a long way to go," said Loh. As for Yeo, she said there is still so much to do and achieve in her sport. "I can’t be satisfied with what I have achieved," she said. Read more at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/new...generation-of-shuttlers-tipped-to-be-11427212
School Sports: Near-perfect Singapore Sports School record clean sweep of B and C Division badminton titles Even though he knew he and his team-mates had prepared well, Singapore Sports School's B Division boys captain Lim Ming Hong (above) said he was still nervous about keeping up the winning streak.ST PHOTO: KHALID BABA Published Apr 16, 2019, 9:30 pm SGT Updated Apr 16, 2019, 9:41 pm Xener Gill xenerg@sph.com.sg SINGAPORE - It was almost the perfect day on Tuesday (April 16) for the Singapore Sports School (SSP) at the National Schools Games badminton finals and a slight blemish did little to ruin the party for the defending champions. Of the 20 matches played across the boys and girls B and C Division categories, SSP won 19 in a show of their dominance. They posted 5-0 wins in both B Division finals against Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) and Raffles Girls School (Secondary) and beat Raffles Institution by the same margin in the C Division boys final. Even though he knew he and his team-mates had prepared well, SSP's B Division boys captain Lim Ming Hong, 17, said he was still nervous about keeping up the winning streak. "Last year we also brought home the four divisional titles (winning 17 of the 20 matches in the final) so there was a lot of pressure on us to do the same this year but I was also confident because we all trained very hard," said the Secondary Five student. He set the tone by beating ACS (I)'s Basile Koh in the opening singles match. The best-of-five format for the finals alternates between singles and doubles. While SSP had an unassailable 3-0 lead and had secured the B Division boys title, ACS (I)'s Jacob Tan,16, and Kendric Cheng, 15, were determined to put up some resistance in the second doubles clash against their opponents Marcus Tan, 16, and Nge Joo Jie, 15. The SSP duo easily won the first game 21-7 but were pegged back in the second game. The score was tied at 20-20 and went back and forth until Marcus and Joo Jie eventually prevailed 26-24. Marcus attributed the win to the support from the crowd at the Jurong East Sports Hall. "During the crucial part towards the end, the supporters' support was extremely important. The voices cheering us on pushed us harder to fight on. We took their energy and converted it into the victory," said the Secondary Four student. Despite the loss, Jacob was proud of the effort shown. He said: "The second game was very tiring but it's our last game because it's our last year in ACS (I) so we just tried our best to give them a good fight. When our match started we already lost but we just went in without any pressure and gave our best." Nothing less than SSP's Rennie Yow's best was required in the B Division girls final. She was pushed very close by RGS' Ilisha Tanasekar, 15, in the second singles match but ultimately prevailed 21-17, 21-19. It put SSP 3-0 up in the final and secured the championship. Rennie, 16, was understandably delighted and said: "There was definitely pressure but even though I was lagging behind in the second match, I never gave up hope. "I felt like I was able to control myself and my emotions better today to help me clinch the win." In the girls C Division final, SSP beat RGS 4-1 with the latter's Tan Li Ting and Chloe Chan pulling off an upset to beat the SSP pairing Amber Lim and Chloe Liew 21-14, 22-20.
CHAN Peng Soon [5] GOH Liu Ying - Danny Bawa CHRISNANTA TAN Wei Han 13-21 22-20 21-18 0:57 SG XD came close today in Asia Championships
Patience the key for Singapore's shuttlers https://www.tnp.sg/sports/others/patience-key-singapores-shuttlers Singapore's Yeo Jia Min (above) meets Busanan Ongbamrungphan today. TNP FILE PHOTO Tough assignments lie in wait for Singapore's representatives at Asian meet Apr 24, 2019 06:00 am Singapore's top shuttlers are under no illusion about the tough tasks ahead of them at the Badminton Asia Championships in Wuhan, China, today. They have been drawn to meet pedigree opponents who have regularly stepped on the podium at major meets. Men's singles hopeful Loh Kean Yew takes on world No. 2 Shi Yuqi, while the Republic's women's singles No. 1 Yeo Jia Min faces Thailand's 2015 SEA Games champion Busanan Ongbamrungphan. The men's doubles pair of Danny Chrisnanta and Terry Hee will not have it easy either, having been drawn to meet Indonesia's world No. 1 duo of Marcus Fernaldo Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo, who won the Asian Games gold medal last year. It will be the first time that the 1.75m Loh will be squaring off against the 1.84m Shi. But the 21-year-old has done his homework and knows that he needs to nullify the 23-year-old hard hitter's aggression with patience. "Facing Shi, who is currently ranked world No. 2, will definitely not be a walk in the park," said Loh, who is ranked world No. 60. "I look forward to the contest and, regardless of the outcome, I hope I can capitalise on my strengths and do my best when we meet. "I have not played Shi before, but I know that he is a good all-round player and very aggressive, so I have to be very patient when playing with him." Shi is among the favourites to win the singles title, along with his fellow countrymen Chen Long and Lin Dan, and reigning champion and world No. 1 Kento Momota. Momota, who claimed his third title in four competitions this year by winning the Singapore Open just 10 days ago, faces South Korea's 26th-ranked Lee Dong Geun today. World No. 4 Chen Long meets 11th-ranked Kanta Tsuneyama of Japan, while Lin Dan takes on Malaysia's Daren Liew. Olympic qualification starts with next week's New Zealand Open, which means shuttlers have an added impetus to do well in Wuhan. Loh is hoping to bounce back from his defeat by Hong Kong's Lee Cheuk Yiu at the Singapore Open qualifiers. He said: "As a professional athlete, I have to be always prepared for the letdowns that happen every so often. "But I have learnt not to dwell too much on missteps, and understood that every experience sets me up to take advantage of the next one. "The Singapore Open is no exception, and I hope the momentum I build will help me do better in the Badminton Asia Championships." EXPERIENCE Yeo, who admitted she should have been more patient after losing to Indonesia's Ruselli Hartawan at the Singapore Open, is hoping to put that experience to good use. Said the 20-year-old: "The Singapore Open helped me to find out more clearly things that I have been trying to find out and so, from here, it helped me to become clearer on what direction I need to work on and hopefully, with time, I will be better. "Busanan is a good player. I look forward to challenging her." Meanwhile, the Republic's duo of Chrisnanta and Tan Wei Han lost 13-21, 22-20, 21-18 to Olympic silver medallists Chan Peng Soon and Goh Liu Ying of Malaysia in the first round of the mixed doubles yesterday.
Badminton Asia Championships 2019 Last update: Wednesday, April 24, 2019 8:07 PM BWF - Chinese Badminton Association | Wuhan, China Wednesday, April 24, 2019 2:40 PM WS YEO Jia Min - Busanan ONGBAMRUNGPHAN 21-15 21-13 0:33 4:40 PM MD Marcus Fernaldi GIDEON [1] Kevin Sanjaya SUKAMULJO - Danny Bawa CHRISNANTA HEE Yong Kai Terry 21-12 21-17 0:22 6:40 PM MS SHI Yuqi [2] - LOH Kean Yew 21-12 21-13 0:42 6:40 PM WD Yujia JIN Ming Hui LIM - Aparna BALAN Sruthi K.P 21-12 21-10 0:25 Congratulations to all our winners and better luck to the others.
Thursday, April 25, 2019 1:00 PM WS Akane YAMAGUCHI [3] - YEO Jia Min 21-18 8-21 21-17 0:47 Jia Min put up a gallant fight before losing to Akane at the BAC
4:40 PM WD Mayu MATSUMOTO [3] [JPN] Wakana NAGAHARA [JPN] - [SGP] Yujia JIN [SGP] Ming Hui LIM 21-7 21-11 0:23 Our last hope was totally no match against the Japanese pair!
certainly. see how long PJB took to bring Japan to current level. the amount of support and time given to him by the association is important.
indeed, not easy to be a professional sportsman here if you want a good living, unless you have sponsors and can compete.
More time needed for turning players into stars. Our players must continue to train hard and intelligently and avoid injuries. There is no short cut. They must be patient and prepared to last about 10 years to develop into top-players. I think Indonesia's juniors are now adapting well as seniors and have been making quite a mark this year. But they still have to have patience and greater exposure as professionals in the international circuit.
School sports: ACS(I) boys win first A Div badminton title since 2014; RI girls win fourth straight title Ng Wee Lim from Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) reacting after scoring a point during the Schools National A Division badminton final at Pasir Ris Sports Hall on May 16, 2019.ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI Published May 16, 2019, 10:17 pm SGT Laura Chia SINGAPORE - It was a day of firsts for the Schools National A Division boys' badminton finalists on Thursday (May 16) at Pasir Ris Sports Hall. Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) won their first title in the competition since 2014, beating first-time finalists Nanyang Junior College (NYJC) 4-1. ACS(I) were up 2-0 in the best-of-five finals and it was down to captain Ng Wee Lim to claim the winning point. But he faced resistance in NYJC's Hong Fei Lut, who led most of the first set until Wee Lim caught up to tie at 19-19 before claiming the last two points. Boosted by his first-set win, the 18-year-old increased his tempo and comfortably won the second set 21-14, as the sea of red, blue and gold erupted into cheers while his teammates leapt onto him and collapsed to the ground in victory. Second doubles pair Ryane Cheong and Tristan Ng won their match 2-0 (21-7, 24-22) before NYJC captain Hoe Yew Wis beat Dillon Chiu 2-0 (21-10, 21-18) to prevent an ACS(I) clean sweep. Wee Lim acknowledged that he felt pressurised before his match, which affected his play in the beginning. He said: "Going into the match, there was additional pressure because I felt that I should try to win as soon as possible to prevent any surprises later. "I was a bit nervous at first but I started to pick up momentum along the way and that helped me gain confidence and I'm glad I was able to maintain that confidence throughout the game and take the win for my school." Vice-captain Ryane, 18, said he and his teammates took last year's semi-final exit to River Valley High School "hard" and "wanted to bounce back even stronger this year". "Everyone really wanted to win it and I feel like that's what got us this far," he added. Even though they lost, NYJC captain Yew Wis was proud of his teammates for making history, after knocking out four-time defending champions Raffles Institution (RI) 3-2 in the semi-finals. The 18-year-old said it was a "dream" to play the final because they did not expect to beat RI in the last four. He added: "During my match today, I wanted to show that even though we lost, we must still try our best as the core of our training is not giving up until the very last shot. "I'm proud that we made it this far and I hope we can maintain this mentality until next year." While ACS(I) won their first title in five years, the RI girls' badminton team emerged victorious for the fourth year running, beating Hwa Chong Institution (HCI) 4-1. The solitary point for HCI was won by Leong Wen Ting, who was determined to beat long-time rival Arielle Koh, who beat her in the National School Games for the past three years. In preparation for Thursday's match, Wen Ting, 18, started running 15 minutes daily during recess to improve her stamina. And her hard work paid off when she beat Arielle 2-0 (21-18, 21-16), reducing the overall score to 2-1, before RI pair Melissa Chua and Sophia Loo comfortably won their match 21-12, 21-8 to give their school the winning point. Nicole Ng won the fourth point for RI in the 2-0 (21-11, 21-16) win over Abigail Yeo in the dead rubber. Captain Melissa, 18, said: "We had a lot of trust in each other and confidence that we could reach here. "It has been a tough journey for all of us as we all had injuries and we faced tough opponents this year so I'm really thankful we defended our title."
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-05/19/c_138071870_2.htm Tuesday, May 21, 2019 Canada beats Singapore 3-2 at TOTAL BWF Sudirman Cup 2019 Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-19 19:46:27|Editor: Wu Qin Canada's Brian Yang (R) shakes hands with Singapore's Loh Kena Yew after the men's singles match in the group match between Canada and Singapore at TOTAL BWF Sudirman Cup 2019 held in Nanning, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, May 19, 2019. Canada won 3-2. (Xinhua/Liu Xu)
Badminton: Indonesia win Sudirman Cup opener but Singapore fall to Canada in thriller Engladnd's Chris and Gabrielle Adcock (red) in action against Indonesia's Praveen Jordan and Melati Daeva Oktavianti during their Sudirman Cup clash.PHOTO: SCREENGRAB FROM BADMINTON WORLD FEDERATION/FACEBOOK Published May 19, 2019, 7:23 pm SGT NANNING, China (XINHUA) - The Sudirman Cup, badminton's biennial world mixed team championship, kicked off on Sunday (May 19) with Indonesia beating England 4-1 in the curtain-raiser in the elite group, as the South-east Asian giants bid for a second title 30 years after winning the maiden edition on home ground. Singapore, however, face an uphill task to improve on their 14th placing from 2017 after losing a tight battle to Canada 3-2 in Group 2B. The tie hinged on the men's doubles, with Danny Bawa Chrisnanta and Loh Kean Hean trailing by a game but leading Jason Anthony Ho-Shue and Nyl Yakura 19-16 in the second. However, they squandered four game points to lose 27-25. Earlier, Chrisnanta had partnered Tan Wei Han to win the opening mixed doubles against Duncan Yao and Josephine Wu 21-13, 21-11. Then Canadian Michelle Li beat Yeo Jia Min 22-20, 21-15 in the women's singles before Loh Kean Yew defeated Brian Yang 21-18, 21-15 in the men's singles to regain the lead for Singapore. Canada levelled the tie when Rachel Honderich and Kristen Tsai easily beat Jin Yujia and Lim Ming Hui 21-13, 21-10. "We knew Singapore was a tough team, but we knew we had a chance, and we knew we had to win this. We'd like to come out of our pool in the top two, and hopefully we can win the group. We had to be ready for a lot of the flat stuff because that's the Asian style and I think we did that well. I was nervous at 18 in the second game and I had to come back from that," a joyous Yakura told the Badminton World Federation website. The defeat means Singapore have a tough challenge to finish in the top half of the group as they face favourites Germany on Monday night. China, who have won a record 10 times but were losing finalists two years ago, coasted past a young Malaysian side missing former world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei 5-0 in their Group 1D opener on Sunday evening. The team feature Rio Olympic champion Chen Long and All England Open winner Chen Yufei as well as debutants Du Yue, Han Chengkai and Han Yue, despite a striking absence of former double Olympic champion Lin Dan. The hosts want an 11th victory to boost their morale ahead of the Tokyo Olympic Games, but face an uphill race against a bunch of rivals. Japan, still seeking for their first Sudirman Cup, are among the hottest favourites as it boasts an envious squad of top-ranked Kento Momoto in men's singles, second-ranked Nozomi Okuhara and fourth-ranked Akane Yamaguchi in women's singles, and three of the top four women's doubles pairs in the world.
Canada[CAN] - [SGP] Singapore: 3-2 Time: Sun 5/19/2019 11:00 AM Draw: Sudirman Cup – Group 2 – Group 2 B Score: 3-2 Match overview Order Event Canada[CAN] - [SGP] Singapore Score Points Duration 1 XD Duncan Yao Josephine Wu [CAN] - [SGP] Danny Bawa Chrisnanta Tan Wei Han 13-21 11-21 0-1 0:24 2 WS Michelle Li [CAN] - [SGP] Yeo Jia Min 22-20 21-15 1-0 0:41 3 MS Brian Yang [CAN] - [SGP] Loh Kean Yew 18-21 15-21 0-1 0:36 4 WD Rachel Honderich Kristen Tsai [CAN] - [SGP] Yujia Jin Ming Hui Lim 21-13 21-10 1-0 0:36 5 MD Jason Anthony Ho-Shue Nyl Yakura [CAN] - [SGP] Danny Bawa Chrisnanta Loh Kean Hean 21-16 27-25 1-0 0:46 Statistics Points Won Draw Lost Matches Games Points Canada 1 1 0 0 3 - 2 6 - 4 190 - 183 Singapore 0 0 0 1 2 - 3 4 - 6 183 - 190
Germany[GER] - [SGP] Singapore: 3-2 Time: Mon 5/20/2019 6:00 PM Draw: Sudirman Cup – Group 2 – Group 2 B Match overview Order Event Germany[GER] - [SGP] Singapore Score Points Duration 1 XD Mark Lamsfuss Isabel Herttrich [GER] - [SGP] Danny Bawa Chrisnanta Tan Wei Han 21-15 21-15 1-0 0:36 2 WS Yvonne Li [GER] - [SGP] Yeo Jia Min 10-21 13-21 0-1 0:32 3 MS Alexander Roovers [GER] - [SGP] Loh Kean Yew 13-21 16-21 0-1 0:38 4 WD Linda Efler Isabel Herttrich [GER] - [SGP] Yujia Jin Ming Hui Lim 21-15 21-18 1-0 0:38 5 MD Mark Lamsfuss Marvin Seidel [GER] - [SGP] Loh Kean Hean Han Zhuo Toh 21-14 22-20 1-0 0:37 Statistics Points Won Draw Lost Matches Games Points Germany 0 1 0 0 3 - 2 6 - 4 179 - 181 Singapore 0 0 0 1 2 - 3 4 - 6 181 - 179
seriously, the results has been quite poor in recent month such that i didnt bother to update the position
I understand but what else do we have? They are our best. Most of our players are still quite young and hopefully have more time to grow to become better players. So we need patience both as fans and players. But our young aspirants must capitalize on their youth and be serious in their training to maximise their potential.
