Singapore’s Terry Hee and Jin Yujia not content with Bangladesh International Challenge badminton title
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Singapore's Terry Hee (left), his mixed doubles partner Jin Yujia (right) and national doubles head coach Paulus Firman after the duo's victory in Bangladesh.
PHOTO: SINGAPORE BADMINTON ASSOCIATION
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SINGAPORE – In only their third competition together, Singapore’s mixed doubles pair Terry Hee and Jin Yujia clinched the Bangladesh International Challenge title on Dec 21.
They beat India’s 88th-ranked Bokka Navaneeth and Ritika Thaker 21-14, 21-16 at the Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmed Indoor Stadium in Dhaka to bag US$1,200 (S$1,600) in prize money.
While this 28-minute win in the lower-tier event serves as a confidence booster for the 168th-ranked Singaporeans, Jin knows that greater challenges await them.
The 27-year-old said: “We came to Bangladesh with a clear target and purpose in mind and we are glad that we executed it well. Of course, we’re happy with the win but we are not content with just one title.
“There’s still a lot of work to be done, such as building our on-court chemistry and honing specific skills such as net coverage.”
Hee believes that this win is a “stepping stone” for the pair as they look forward to their next challenge – the Jan 7-12 Malaysia Open, a Super 1000 event on the Badminton World Federation World Tour in Kuala Lumpur.
The 29-year-old said: “Hopefully we will get better from here as we compete in higher-tier tournaments.
“The partnership is rather new, and we may test a few things in the next few months.
“But for now, we’re not going to reveal our strategies, I just hope we will be able to win more matches and win bigger ones.”
The duo were paired together in late November as Hee’s long-time playing partner and wife Jessica Tan is recovering from injuries.
In their first outing, Hee and Jin had reached the semi-finals of the Guwahati Masters on Dec 7, losing to England’s Rory Easton and Lizzie Tolman, who were ranked No. 72 then. Eight days later, they lost in the Odisha Masters final to China’s Gao Jiaxuan and Tang Ruizhi (world No. 206).
Against the Indians on Dec 21, Hee and Jin had got off to a slow start as they trailed 3-0 before levelling at 7-7. The Singaporeans then pulled away, stringing four points in a row to make it 19-13 before winning 21-14.
In the second game, Hee and Jin led early, but the Indians pegged them back at 7-7, thanks to several well-timed smashes by Naavaneeth.
But Hee and Jin went on another four-point run to make it 11-8. There was little that Thaker could do about Hee’s smashes as the Singaporeans eventually saw out the second game 21-16.
Terry Hee (left) and Jin Yujia clinched their first title together, the Bangladesh International Challenge on their third outing.
PHOTO: SINGAPORE BADMINTON ASSOCIATION
National doubles head coach Paulus Firman believes that the duo’s “real test” will come in two weeks’ time.
The Indonesian said: “To be honest, Terry and Yujia should be the champions in this tournament because none of their opponents posed any real challenge to them.
“Our goals in joining this tournament are to secure maximum points for their ranking, and also build their matchplay confidence.
“This pair still has many shortcomings that need to be fixed if they want to be victorious at the top levels.
“Their individual abilities, defensive skills, and cooperation on court must be improved and I hope they will be able to give their higher-ranked opponents a good fight in Malaysia.”
