Loh Kean Yew and Yeo Jia Min aiming to overcome slump and capture elusive SEA Games gold

SINGAPORE – Battle-hardened by numerous major Games and hundreds of matches on the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour, Loh Kean Yew and Yeo Jia Min are no longer the shy teenagers they were during their SEA Games debuts in 2015 and 2017 respectively.

Yeo was part of the 2015 team but did not get any court time.

Today, Singapore’s top badminton players are assured and articulate professionals, and even though their form has stuttered of late with early exits during October’s European swing, the duo made it clear they are gunning for individual gold at the Thailand SEA Games in December.

At the Singapore Badminton Association’s (SBA) media session held in its OCBC Arena office on Nov 6, women’s singles world No. 19 Yeo was defiant even though she has had a roller-coaster season,

winning the German Open in March

but struggling with recurring knee and Achilles injuries afterwards.

The 26-year-old, who is still looking for her first individual SEA Games medal, said: “The past few months have been challenging for me in terms of trying to keep my condition.

“As such, I’ve made the choice with the team to not go for the upcoming Kumamoto Masters and Australia Open because the goal is clear – I want to focus 100 per cent on getting back to my best condition and doing well at the SEA Games. It will be a challenge, but I’m up for the challenge.

“The goal is definitely to get the gold medal, regardless of whether the other countries are sending their top players or not.”

Similarly, men’s singles world No. 9 Loh had a strong first half of the year by

winning the Taipei Open in May

, but was struck by a bacterial infection.

The 28-year-old, who was

SEA Games men’s singles silver medallist in 2019 and 2022

, acknowledges the increased expectations because of his two final appearances and 2021 world championship win.

Loh said: “The SEA Games just hits different because we are fighting for our country’s honour. I was still young in 2015 and many things have happened 10 years on.

“I’ve played in a lot more tournaments and for sure the mindset going in will be different because of all the experiences gained and different expectations now.

“It is a privilege to be able to have this kind of expectations, because it shows the level that we’re at.

“Of course, there are going to be many strong players from other countries and it’s not going to be easy, but I’ll keep trying my best because I also want to win a gold medal for Singapore.

“Health-wise, I’ve almost recovered already... But whether or not I’m feeling good or not, I know that every day I’m still trying and pushing to be at my best.”

In a region stacked with world-class badminton talent from Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, Singapore has won only three SEA Games badminton golds through Wong Shoon Keat (men’s singles, 1983), the women’s team (2003) and Fu Mingtian (women’s singles, 2011).

However, with Indonesia naming a squad of largely second-stringers and promising youngsters, Malaysia struggling on the singles front and only hosts Thailand set to field its strongest line-up to please home fans, Loh and Yeo represent Singapore’s best chance to win a rare SEA Games badminton gold.

Both players featured in only the team events at the last SEA Games in Cambodia as the individual events clashed with the Sudirman Cup.

Meanwhile, SBA chief executive officer Woo Kaiwei has also set a four-medal target, more than the three bronzes (men’s doubles, men’s and women’s team) the players claimed at the 2023 Games. The team events are scheduled for Dec 7 to 10, followed by the individual events from Dec 11 to 14.

SBA head of pathways and performance Vanessa Neo added that it is finding ways to help its players identify training blocks in a calendar to help them be more consistent, while keeping in mind the need for them to continue playing regularly on the BWF World Tour to secure higher rankings and seedings on the circuit and in major Games.

As such, SBA will stage a Nov 24-Dec 4 centralised training camp in Singapore for its SEA Games players to train and spar with Taiwanese club coaches.

Among these 18 players are four debutants as SBA bloods its next generation of players ahead of the 2029 SEA Games in Singapore.

The first-timers are men’s team players Ding Hanjin, 18, and Kriston Choo, a 23-year-old who will also play mixed doubles with Heng Xiao En, and sisters Li Zhenghong, 18, and Li Zhengyan, 17, who will play in the women’s doubles and team events.

Ding, a Raffles Institution student who is also preparing for his A levels, said: “I am overjoyed and very proud to have the privilege to represent Singapore in the SEA Games for the first time this year. I look forward to gaining more experience as well as learning from the many world-class players who will be present at the Games.”