SINGAPORE: Singapore national badminton player Jason Teh recently had one of his best runs in a tournament this year, reaching the quarter-finals of the Bergamot KL Masters Malaysia. However, he was unable to find a way past Malaysia’s Aidil Sholeh in the final eight, losing 18-21, 21-5, 13-21 at the Titiwangsa Stadium in Kuala Lumpur on Nov 3.
The 2022 Commonwealth Games mixed team event bronze medalist Jason Teh started his campaign with a hard-fought three-set victory over Australia’s Jack Yu in the Round of 64. Despite losing the opening game 16-21, Teh recovered to win the next two sets 21-17, 21-15.
Despite his right knee injury not fully recovered, world number 60 Cheam June Wei opted to continue playing in the tournament. This gave Singaporean shuttler Teh an advantage, as he had no trouble sealing a 21-8, 21-10 victory over the former Youth Olympic gold medalist and Asian Team Championships silver medalist in just 31 minutes.
Teh and Cheam have met four times on the court, and this match is the Singaporean second career win over the Malaysian. Teh first won against Cheam last year in the Singapore Open in a keenly contested match over three sets. Prior to that, Cheam won their first two encounters in the Denmars Masters and the Italian International in 2022.
Singapore’s Jason Teh notched a dominant 21-13, 21-10 victory over Hong Kong’s Chan Yin Chak in the Round of 16, improving on his 21-17, 24-22 victory over the same opponent at last year’s Denmark Masters.
Singapore’s Jason Teh’s good run ended in the quarter-finals to Malaysia’s Aidil Sholeh, who was brimming with confidence after winning his maiden individual badminton title at the Indonesia International Challenge, defeating Japan’s Keita Makino in the men’s singles final on Oct 22 at the Jatim Expo in Surabaya.
But Aidil’s journey ended in the semi-finals, where he lost 21-15, 24-22 to the tournament’s top seed, Chia Hao Lee of Chinese Taipei. However, Chia was unable to claim the men’s singles title, falling in a stunning upset to 2017 Asian Junior Championships winner Leong Jun Hao of Malaysia in the final, 20-22, 13-21.
Another Team Singapore badminton pair, Terry Hee and Jessica Tan, recently competed at the Hylo Open in Germany. The world number 26 mixed doubles duo defeated Adam Hall and Julie MacPherson of Scotland 21-14, 21-18 in the Round of 32. Hee and Tan faced tougher opponents in the Round of 16, going up against world number nine Mathias Christiansen and Alexandra Boje of Denmark, who had won multiple BWF World Tour medals in mixed doubles together this year, including the Spain Masters and the Singapore Open. Despite their best efforts, the Singaporean pair lost 16-21, 21-16, 12-21.
Singapore’s mixed doubles pairing Hee and Tan will next prepare for the China Masters in Shenzhen, which begins on Nov 21, while Teh will head to Gwangju, South Korea, for the Korea Masters starting on Nov 7.