Jason Teh |
@jiaheng_teh_jason
You have to move your brain fast on the court, which is a test of your on-the-spot reaction. It’s a bit like playing chess, and it also involves a lot of strategy and psychological tactics. To hit the level of a professional player, it is impossible to easily score from the opponent, and you have to fight wits and courage.
At the age of five, he followed his father to play ball. Because of his interest and potential, he has been a badminton player for more than 10 years and is currently the second men’s singles player of the national team. At the age of 21, he is almost filled with badminton every day. He said that an athlete’s career is very short, and only by constantly pushing himself to grasp every process can he reach the desired end.
I heard you started playing when you were five?
It was playing with my dad, who was an amateur. Later, my father took me to training, and the coach felt that I had a lot of potential, so I started from there to now. At first, it was fun, but after participating in the badminton age grouping championship, I felt that I wanted to enter the national team and achieve results.
Curious about the training schedule of a national team badminton player, can you share it?
I train at the Singapore Sports Hub six days a week, two sessions a day (except Wednesdays and Saturdays, where I only train in the morning). The training time of the first half day is from 8:00 am to 11:30 am, and the training time of the second half day is from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm. I get up every six o’clock in the morning to get ready, and after the first half of the day’s training, I will seize the time to rest in the training center. After training for the second half of the day, I have no energy to do other things when I get home. I usually rest early, otherwise it will be difficult to recover the next day. As for when I’m not training, I go swimming or doing stretches to help with muscle repair. Of course it will be tiring, but for athletes to be in good shape, self-discipline is very important.
10 years of badminton player career, to a certain extent, also shaped your current personality?
It’s definitely related. Because you have practiced for so long and you are doing the same thing every day, you will encounter many problems and obstacles that you cannot break through. Now I am more self-disciplined in personality, because after so many years of fighting, from sleep, diet, daily routine and other things, you can’t do what ordinary people usually do, you must make sacrifices to have such a performance today. I feel that my attitude towards life is firmer.
Once I hesitate on the court, I will probably lose key points, which also affects my attitude towards dealing with some things in life. As long as I make a decision, I will do my best, and I will not hold a hesitant mentality like 50:50.
What do you enjoy most about being a badminton player?
time on the field. Because badminton has many variations. For example, if you do a fake move or a second pause, you may trick your opponent because of it. You have to move your brain fast on the court, which is a test of your on-the-spot reaction. It’s a bit like playing chess, and it also involves a lot of strategy and psychological tactics. To hit the level of a professional player, it is impossible to easily score from the opponent, and you have to fight wits and courage.
Most memorable game?
The just-concluded Asian Badminton Team Championship. Because the feeling of the team competition is really different, every point is a commitment to the team, and the pressure is much greater than that of the individual competition. I remember when we played against Malaysia in the semi-finals, we were already 2-0 behind, I was the second men’s singles player, if I lost one more point, I would be out. In the first game I played, I won first. In the second game, I was leading the opponent by a score of 19-15. Maybe because I wanted to win too much, it was counterproductive. In the end, I was overtaken by the opponent. In fact, I twisted my foot in the second game. I didn’t think so at the time, and I continued to play three games. When I returned to the hotel after the game, my feet had turned purple, and they were bandaged into “zongzi” after nursing. In retrospect, if it was normal, I probably wouldn’t be able to endure this kind of foot injury, and I don’t know how I managed it. Fortunately, the Singapore team finally won the bronze medal!
So are you super afraid of losing?
Will definitely be afraid of losing. Because it is a competitive sport, who would want to lose? I was definitely more afraid of losing before than now, but after going through many competitions and listening to the opinions of all parties along the way, I will not be too obsessed with “win or lose” and affect my own. play. It’s not that it doesn’t matter if you lose, and you’re more relaxed because of it. It’s just that the first thing is to do your best first, and then talk about winning or losing. Because if you perform well, the results will naturally follow.
Will the success of teammate Luo Jianyou give you more pressure, or is it a driving force?
There must be pressure, because many people around me will tell me, “You are the second men’s singles and hope to win the championship like him”, “If you can do this, that…”. Whether well-intentioned or unintentional, pressure will inevitably form. But I will digest it myself, and I use it more as a driving force. I will try to catch up with his footsteps. After all, everyone’s process and progress are different, and progress is also fast and slow. The most important thing is that you have to believe in yourself and you can reach the desired end.
So do you follow and care about social media comments?
I will watch it when I brush it, not especially. Social media has its good and bad, of course, it lets more people know about you and the sport. The bad thing is that more people will comment on you, and there will be good and bad ones. If players with poor pressure resistance will definitely be affected, this will also directly affect their mentality and performance, and instead become a distraction.
So what are your goals?
Represent Singapore at the 2024 Olympics, no matter how difficult it will be. To do this, I have to improve the world ranking to within 16. This also means that I have to play my best in every competition in order to gain points and improve the ranking and go further.
What advice do you have for young people who also want to be athletes?
The most basic thing is to work hard and be very focused on giving. Athletes’ careers are not long, and they must always push themselves and grasp every process. Don’t keep thinking that there is still tomorrow, you are still young, you really have to act now!
Photography Phyllicia Wang Art Director Paul Soi Styling Jet Ong
HairZoel Tee using Revlon Professional MakeupAaron Ng, Decorum Salon, using Chanel Beauty
