Singapore badminton eyes Danish model but talent pipeline remains greatest challenge

SINGAPORE: Singapore aims to be a "top-performing badminton nation" but work needs to be done to bolster the existing talent pipeline, said the national sports association's top brass.

Speaking to CNA in a wide-ranging interview in November, Singapore Badminton Association (SBA) president Lawrence Leow and deputy president Abdul Hamid Khan said they had their eye on Denmark as a benchmark.

"Its population size is about the same as Singapore’s, and it has players ranked in the top 25 in all five disciplines," said Leow.

Traditionally one of the sport's biggest powerhouses, the Danes boast the likes of double Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen and world No 2 Anders Antonsen in the men's singles, as well as the world top ranked pair of Kim Astrup and Anders Rasmussen in the men's doubles.

Hamid, a former national player and Olympian himself, said Singapore badminton was starting out from "a good place".

For one, Singapore men's and women's singles players Loh Kean Yew and Yeo Jia Min are ranked in the world's top 20 (both are at No 13). Men's singles player Jason Teh also reached a career high earlier this year.

The husband-wife mixed doubles pair of Terry Hee and Jessica Tan are also in the world's top 25, though it was announced in November that Hee will partner Jin Yujia for now as Tan “has not fully recovered from her injuries and is not sufficiently competition-fit”.

A generation of younger players is also coming up, added Hamid.

This includes the men's doubles duo of Kubo Junsuke and Wesley Koh, who won the Polish International Challenge a few months after completing National Service obligations.

Leow, who has served as SBA president since 2018, also pointed to Singapore's badminton players qualifying in three disciplines at the