Younger badminton players to carry Singapore’s hopes in SEA Games singles events
More experienced players, including Loh Kean Yew and Yeo Jia Min, will only be taking part in the team events, before leaving for the Badminton World Federation’s Sudirman Cup in China.
SINGAPORE: Singapore’s younger badminton players will be carrying the country’s hopes in the singles competition at the upcoming SEA Games, in the absence of their more experienced teammates.
Top players, including Singapore’s first badminton world champion Loh Kean Yew and the country’s first top junior player in the world Yeo Jia Min, will only be taking part in the team events this time round.
They will leave halfway through the Games, for the Badminton World Federation’s Sudirman Cup in Suzhou, China, which starts on May 14.
The SEA Games will take place in Cambodia from May 5 to May 17.
But the younger athletes are not fazed by the challenge, and are looking to rise up to the occasion.
DEPTH OF TALENT IN TEAM
The Singapore Badminton Association, the sport’s governing body here, said the scheduling clash is a good sign.
It shows that the team is now qualifying for major events, with enough depth in talent to send other players for another competition, its technical director Martin Andrew told CNA.
Among the younger players called up is 21-year-old Nur Insyirah Khan.
She is no stranger to the SEA Games, having been involved in three previous editions.
While she was previously involved in the women's team events, the upcoming games will see her make her singles debut.
“It's my first time and I'm going there with a mindset of ‘I got nothing to lose’ and I'm an underdog. So whatever goes, I will just fight,” she told CNA.
Insyirah, ranked 76th in the world, is Singapore’s second-highest ranked women's singles player.
For Joel Koh, who took part in the Youth Olympic Games in 2018, it will be his second singles outing in the SEA Games.
“Definitely, there will be pressure but I also see it as an opportunity to rise up to the occasion and then embrace the challenge,” he told CNA.
“I want to focus on the process and do what I need to do, and let the results take care of themselves.”
LOOKING FORWARD TO THE OLYMPICS
Mr Andrew told CNA that the qualification process for next year’s Olympic Games starts in May, and lasts for 12 months.
The association decided to prioritise the Sudirman Cup as it is one of the tournaments in the qualification process for the Olympics, while the SEA Games is not.
“So we've got to take every opportunity for our players that are on the Olympic pathway to maximise their world ranking points during that 12-month period,” he said.
Mr Andrew said the youth crop consists of players who have been identified to fly the flag at future major competitions, such as the 2028 and 2032 Olympic Games and the 2029 SEA Games which will be held in Singapore.
“So the opportunities are there for these guys to gain experience,” he said.
For now, Singapore’s 40-year wait for a gold medal in the badminton men's singles competition might have to take a little longer.
Former world champion Loh Kean Yew had picked up silver at the last edition in Vietnam, while the team took home five bronze medals.
Singapore has only clinched three out of the over 200 badminton golds that have been up for grabs in the history of the SEA Games.
They were won by Wong Shoon Keat in the 1983 men’s tournament, followed by the women's team two decades later, and Fu Mingtian in the women’s competition in 2011.
