Badminton: Singapore teens Nge and Prajogo attain world No. 1 ranking for junior men’s doubles
Sign up now: Get the biggest sports news in your inbox
Singapore's Johann Prajogo (left) and Nge Joo Jie rose to the top of the junior men's doubles world rankings on Dec 27, 2022.
PHOTO: BADMINTONPHOTO
SINGAPORE – Singapore badminton has ended 2022 on a high as junior men’s doubles pair Nge Joo Jie and Johann Prajogo, both 18, rose to the top of the world rankings.
In the latest Badminton World Federation rankings published on Tuesday, the Singaporeans climbed two spots to overtake Indonesia’s Muh Putra Erwiansyah and Patra Harapan Rindorindo.
This is only the second time Singapore has had a badminton world No. 1.
In June 2017, Yeo Jia Min became the top junior female player.
Nge, a second-year sports business student at Republic Polytechnic, said: “It’s an honour to create history for Team Singapore and we couldn’t have done it without our teammates, coaches, friends and family.”
The youngsters, who have played as a pair since they were 15 and studying at the Singapore Sports School, have produced several eye-catching results on the junior circuit.
In June, they won two titles at the Bulgaria Junior Open Championships and Croatia Valamar Junior Open. In October, they were unbeaten in four matches as Singapore finished 18th at the Oct 17-22 World Junior Mixed Team Championships in Spain.
The following week, also in Santander, they reached the quarter-finals of the World Junior Championships where they lost 21-13, 21-17 to China’s eventual champions Xu Huayu and Zhu Yijun.
National doubles coach Paulus Firman said: “They have great potential to be a strong men’s doubles pair for Singapore.
“They have the strength and speed in carrying out attacks, and can still improve on stroke accuracy, quality of defence, focus and their mental aspect during training and in tournaments.”
On the senior circuit, they are ranked 196th and reached the last eight of the Lithuanian Open, Bahrain International Series and Bahrain International Challenge. From 2023, they will no longer play in junior competitions.
Prajogo said: “Our goal is to represent Singapore in the major Games in 2023 and hopefully many more.”
Singapore Badminton Association chief executive officer Alan Ow said: “We are proud of the boys’ achievements...The boys will have to continue to work hard as the leap to senior level is not easy.
“The coaches will ensure this transition is a smooth one and they must not forget that this is just the beginning of their badminton career.”
