Shuttlers Make History For Singapore Again

2019 Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Championships

By Li Peixin

Senior Executive, Strategic Communications

Singapore Sports School alumni Loh Kean Yew and Yeo Jia Min have set their sight on medalling at the Philippines 2019 SEA Games. The duo’s confidence was boosted by their breakthrough performance at the BWF World Championships 2019 in Basel, Switzerland from 19 to 25 August.

Jia Min, an alumna of Nanyang Primary School, defeated World No. 1 Akane Yamaguchi on 20 August. She then made history for Singapore by reaching the world championships quarter-finals after defeating Vietnam's Vu Thi Trang on 22 August in a 72-minute battle with scores of 21-15, 14-21, 21-16. The World No. 27’s run ended after she lost to former world champion Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand.

Kean Yew, the World No. 28, got off to a winning start against India’s 10th seed Sameer Verma in the first round, and played against France’s Thomas Rouxel in the second round. It was sweet revenge this time for Kean Yew, who had lost to Rouxel at the German Open in February. Kean Yew defeated the world No. 54 Frenchman with 18-21, 21-13, 21-11 to advance to the men’s singles Round of 16 competition, but failed to advance beyond that when he lost 21-13, 18-21, 21-17 to world No. 2 Chou Tien-chen of Chinese Taipei.

This is the second time in two months that Sports School shuttlers make history for Singapore. In July, post-secondary student-athletes Aaron Yong Chuan Shen and Howin Wong Jia Hao became the first-ever Singapore boys’ doubles pair to win a medal at the Badminton Asia Junior Championships, a continental tournament that crowns the best under-19 badminton players across Asia.

Jia Min and Kean Yew are back at the grind of training, bringing them closer to their SEA Games dream, as Singapore awaits for another breakthrough.