Steely determination to succeed beneath shuttler Yeo Jia Min's unassuming nature
SINGAPORE — Most athletes would be eager to bask in the glory of achieving a slice of sporting history for their country. Not Yeo Jia Min.
Days after becoming the first Singaporean women’s singles player to reach the quarter-final stage of the Badminton World Championships, she is already back at the grind of training, honing her already-exquisite shot-making skills at the OCBC Arena on Thursday (29 August).
When asked by Yahoo News Singapore about her biggest gratification after her memorable exploits last week in Basel, Switzerland, the soft-spoken 20-year-old did not mention the praises and adulation from members of the public.
Instead, she said, “One of my acquaintances told me that her children began to play badminton more often, after watching me at the World Championships.
“That makes me really happy. I’ve always wanted to be a positive influence for my sport, to encourage more people to take up badminton. So that’s what gives me the most satisfaction after the World Championships.”
Modest nature despite eye-catching headlines
It is typical of Yeo’s modest and unassuming nature, even though she has already created plenty of eye-catching headlines in the Singapore badminton community – one which has had its fair share of local sporting heroes such as Wong Peng Soon in the 1950s, Zarinah Abdullah in the 1990s, and Ronald Susilo in the 2000s.
It may have found a new sensation in Yeo. A stirring run at the World Championships saw Yeo beating world No. 1 Akane Yamaguchi in a stunning upset in her round-of-32 match, followed by her win over Vietnam’s Vu Thi Trang in the next round.
Even back in 2017, she was already making history, by being the first Singaporean shuttler to reach the top of the world junior rankings.
It has been a steady rise for the former Singapore Sports School student since she began training full-time in 2016 for the sport she picked up when she was in Primary 2.
Now ranked world No. 28 – a big improvement from her No. 146 ranking in July last year – Yeo has already won two titles in the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour circuit: last year’s Vietnam Open and the Hyderabad Open just before the World Championships.
“I think I’ve become more independent mentally in the past year. Badminton’s such a fast-paced game, you don’t have time to consider a lot of things. I have to adapt accordingly to all sorts of players and situations,” she said.
“At the same time, I had to control my emotions, so I can focus on just the game and not think about everything that is outside of the court. I think I’ve improved a lot of that aspect.”
No time to rest on laurels
She has little time to rest on her laurels, as she is continuing to compete on the BWF World Tour, flying off to Taipei on Sunday for next week’s Chinese Taipei Open.
But just like her idol, Malaysian badminton star Lee Chong Wei, Yeo has a steely determination to be successful in her chosen sport, brushing aside injury setbacks early on in her career, as well as the tough grind of staking out a name for herself in the highly-competitive Tour circuit.
“In five years’ time, I hope to see myself competing regularly with the top players in the world,” she said.
“My parents and my coaches have always given me great encouragement throughout my career, and I just have to keep on pushing myself hard to achieve my targets.”
Trying to improve all the time
So focused is Yeo that she barely has time to pursue other interests, although she reveals that she is keen on learning a few new languages, including Korean so that she could follow her favourite Korean television shows.
She would not have it any other way, though. In fact, the only moments when she feels down are when she is injured and could not train.
“If I cannot train, then I cannot improve,” she said. “You have to try and improve all the time, in every situation. Every different day is a different court, a different situation and a different obstacle to conquer.
“Even when I win a match, it doesn’t mean that there is nothing more to improve. And if I lose a match, I would find motivation when I see progress.”
So does it mean she is fine with losing matches in her single-minded search for improvement?
For the first time in the interview, Yeo broke into a wide grin and said, “Of course not lah! I still want to win every match I’m in.”
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Former champ ends Yeo Jia Min's stirring run at Badminton World Championships
Singapore shuttler Yeo Jia Min stuns world No. 1 Akane Yamaguchi at World Championships
