Hope 1 day we can go the way like the Thais. From basic badminton school to woman singles world champion. Purchasing don't work. Ppl will go where the $ is. Sports needs lots of discipline. Going head on with your coach/ manager is not wise. So enjoy your freedom...but you end up where you are today. Serious in monetary terms?
https://sg.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/f...-i-play--derek-wong--badminton-014222166.html Why I Play: Derek Wong, badminton By Lim Yong Teck – Wed, Apr 20, 2016 9:42 AM "Why I Play” is a weekly column every Wednesday showcasing the stories of people who enjoy playing sports in Singapore. Want to see your sport featured? Let us know via Facebook, Twitter or email. National shuttler Derek Wong poses during a photoshoot at the OCBC Arena on April 5, 2016 in Singapore. (Photo: Lim Yong Teck) In badminton, Derek Wong is Singapore’s best and world-ranked 60th. Taking after his parents, who were both national shuttlers, the 27-year-old is married to Vanessa Neo, who also plays for the national team. Wong’s career is not short of accolades. Recent milestones include a bronze at the 28th Southeast Asian Games team event, silver at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games, and finishing top 32 at the 2012 London Olympic Games. Wong, who is also a part-time research analyst at Deloitte, is currently playing tournaments leading up to the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. Wong’s most recent appearance was at the OUE Singapore Open on 12 April where he was eliminated at the second round of qualifying. How did you get involved in this sport? I got involved in this sport through my family. Both my parents were badminton national athletes and are now currently coaching in badminton. What kind of a workout do you get from playing badminton? Badminton is a sport that requires almost every single muscle in our bodies. From leg strength, to core stability and to upper body strength as well. Furthermore, to be professional, we need the agility, endurance and power to compete against players from other countries. Derek Wong of Singapore returns a shot against Soo Teck Zhi of Malaysia during the men's singles match on day 1 of the OUE Singapore Open at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on April 12, 2016 in Singapore. (Photo: Lim Yong Teck) What are the biggest misconceptions people have of badminton? The misconception of this sport is that people tend to think that badminton is not a very fast sport. But speed tests of the shuttle has proven otherwise - it is faster than tennis, squash and all other racket sports games. In playing badminton, what has been your most memorable experience? Your most heartbreaking? My most memorable experience is winning against Taufik Hidayat, the 2004 Olympic Champion at the 2011 World Championships. My most heartbreaking moment for me is losing in the final of the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Derek Wong of Singapore in action against Soo Teck Zhi of Malaysia during the men's singles match on day 1 of the OUE Singapore Open at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on April 12, 2016 in Singapore. (Photo: Lim Yong Teck) Do you have a badminton player you look up to? Or do you view other players as opponents you aim to beat? I do not look up to other players as I am very competitive. I do learn from the good players though. One quote that I like and try to live by is by Roger Federer - “Fear none, respect all”. Share an inspiring story you have of a tournament or an experience with team mates that made you love badminton even more. I love the daily training sessions where I get to train and communicate with my fellow national athletes. It is inspiring to train with my teammates because we learn from one another, and we encourage and spur each other on. We celebrate the victories and go through the rough times together. There is definitely a special bond. Derek Wong (L) of Singapore speaks to his coach during his men’s singles match against Soo Teck Zhi of Malaysia on day 1 of the OUE Singapore Open at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on April 12, 2016 in Singapore. (Photo: Lim Yong Teck) Was there a time you felt like walking away from badminton? What made you stay? After not playing competitive badminton for over a year due to national service, I had to start my training all over again. This was a tough time for me but luckily, with resilience and patience, I overcame the obstacle and kept on playing till now. What was your worst injury experienced? My worst injury was when I injured my lower back due to strenuous badminton exercise and training. I was out of training and competition for two months. Derek Wong of Singapore returns a shot against Soo Teck Zhi of Malaysia during the men's singles match on day 1 of the OUE Singapore Open at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on April 12, 2016 in Singapore. (Photo: Lim Yong Teck) What life lessons has badminton taught you? This sport has taught me a lot about discipline and the limits that we can push our minds and bodies to. It is really amazing that with a proper training regime and maximum focus we can do anything we set our minds to do. The lessons in excellence, resilience and determination from sport have also helped me in the world outside of it. I have been able to apply these lessons in my work with Deloitte. Another lesson I have learnt is never to take support for granted – it is because of my family, friends, teammates and my supervisors and colleagues in Deloitte that I am able to dream so big and come so far.
happened to watched the final game of the Badminton Asian Championship WS qualifying match between Yeo Jiamin and Nguyen Thuy Linh (Vietnam) on youtube, and the TV commentators pointed out several times that the Viet girl looked tired and Yeo should played long rallies (since skill wise the Viet is better than Yeo). wonder whether did the SG coach notice this too and gave her instructions, as he was always silent and arms folded, when caught on screen. just my thought, as it made me think the commentators' eyes seems to be more sharp than the coach.
Olympic bid by Chrisnanta, Neo thwarted again Vanessa Neo and Danny Bawa Chrisnanta competing at the OUE Singapore Open earlier this month. The Singapore mixed doubles pair failed for a second consecutive time to qualify for the Olympics, after their Badminton Asia Championships defeat on Tuesday. ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM Published Apr 28, 2016, 5:00 am SGT May Chen maychen@sph.com.sg Another four years committed to training and chasing ranking points has ended again in a barren run for badminton mixed doubles pair Danny Bawa Chrisnanta and Vanessa Neo. The duo's first-round exit at the Badminton Asia Championships (BAC) on Tuesday also meant the door to this August's Olympic Games has closed on them, with no more time or tournaments left for the Singaporeans to make a last-ditch bid. The Badminton World Federation's world ranking list published next week will be used to allocate quota places to athletes and the pair, ranked 25th, fell behind a Thai and Japanese pair in the pecking order. It is the second straight miss for the two, who were first reserves in the qualification process for the 2012 London Olympics. Neo told The Straits Times from Wuhan, China, yesterday, where the BACs are in progress: "I'm disappointed that I'm unable to qualify again, but I've already put in my best effort. "I'm thankful that I was given the opportunity to compete in this Olympic race. Without sponsors and the SBA, it wouldn't have been possible." While the pair's results have not been ideal in months, an upset of world No. 8 and All England champions Praveen Jordan and Debby Susanto of Indonesia this month had reignited hope. But they suffered first-round exits at their next three tournaments, including the OUE Singapore Open on home soil. This also means that the squad competing at the Rio Games will be the Singapore Badminton Association (SBA)'s smallest yet since the 2004 edition. The Republic fielded three shuttlers (two events) in Athens, five shuttlers (four events) in Beijing, and four (three events) at the last Games. Singles players Derek Wong and Liang Xiaoyu will likely be the only qualifiers this time. In comparison, other top-funded national sport associations like sailing, shooting and swimming have all had breakthroughs in qualifying more athletes to the quadrennial event this time. National chief coach Chua Yong Joo said while Chrisnanta and Neo were among the world's top 10 pairs in 2013, competition has become much stiffer since. "There are a lot of up-and-coming pairs from other countries, who may have as many as four to five equally good pairs each. "In terms of results, we haven't been as consistent." He added that the departure of significant shuttlers in recent years has also hurt the depth of talent in the senior team. Without 2012 Olympian Yao Lei, in particular, the national team no longer had a consistent women's doubles pair. Gu Juan, Fu Mingtian, Terry Yeo and Ashton Chen also hung up their rackets. "A number of key players left, so we don't have a big pool of players able to fight for qualification," said Chua, who noted that the national team is transitioning to include more local-born shuttlers than before. He said: "The others are really young and not ready to fight for Olympic qualification. I won't say that we're taking a step backwards. "Going forward, we'll likely have more local-born players on the team and I really do hope they can take up this challenge."
Start by sending players for more competition to gain playing experience. They will never improve by training against own players day in day out. They need to play against better players. Win or loss don't matter as long as they can improve their play and more mentally prepared to face better and faster opponents. Give more exposure for the youngsters.
indeed that is necessary given the dearth of local talent, but it will depend on how much fund is available and the long-term planning by the SBA. given the government pragmatic approach (no medals, no fund) and short-term foresight (no potential, no fund), it would not be easy.
To be fair it has been rather difficult for SBA, not that they have not tried various options to keep badminton going in Singapore and to be represented internationally. We just do not have enough local talents interested and committed enough to become professionals for various reasons. Let's hope the next harvest will be much greater than before.
committed? for guys, mindef would throw a spanner in their path to professionalism. derek wong nearly gave up after a 2 year break serving NS. schooling has to fight hard to defer successfully but not everyone can be as lucky as him. for top sportsmen, that 2 years when they are around 18-19 is very important in their learning progress.
Agree 2 years in NS can kill interest and enthusiasm. However the relevant authorities now understand better and allow deferments to really talented sportsmen to intensify their training, especially for such a big meet like the Rio Olympics. This has been a difficult policy decision I guess since NS is compulsory for every male young adult from age 18 and they have to be seen not to show favoritism to anyone, no matter who their parents are. Rio Olympics is special.
Rio Olympics...that's the main issue, only when govt is convince of medal hopes then they would consider deferment. but considering only local sportsmen, how many really can or have win medals in Olympics. how about allowing deferment for those with chances of tasting glory in Commonwealth or Asian games? if they prove themselves or put in good performances, then extend deferment to prepare for Olympics. anyway we will see mindef's approach to Loh Kean Yew soon. given my love for this game, i do hope to see more local talents too.
The form of Derek Wong has been going downhill ever since he won the silver medal for the 2014 commonwealth games. Hope he can give way to younger player after the Rio Olympics. He can contribute by being a coach for the youth team or switch to mix doubles and partner Vanessa Neo (Adock of Singapore).
#773 latecomer, Apr 29, 2016 Most likely destination for him (Kento Momota) is Singapore." This reply is in response to the above post in the Kento Momota thread. The writer cheekily said that as KM is suspended and will not be able to play for Japan during that period, and if KM wants to leave, Singapore will probably be his destination. It relates to SBA's or even Singapore's foreign talent policy on sports and I thought it is worth repeating in this thread for record purposes. "If KM is able to get a release from NBA, not only Singapore, but I think many more other countries will be happy to bid for him. Unfortunately, Singapore never really got a chance to get the top players although at one time, Taufik Hidayat almost joined us, to be stopped by PBSI in the end. But during his short stay, TH helped to promote badminton in Singapore. We did get some adult second stringers from China and Indonesia. Due to a dearth of good local players of international standard, Singapore gave them (the foreign talents) the opportunity to continue playing badminton as professionals and some even got the rare opportunity to participate in the Olympics and other regional games, apart from BWF tournaments. In turn some of them stayed on after retirement to give back to our badminton community as coaches. Many years ago, SBA thought out a scheme to recruit "foreign talents" who are in their early teens at around 13 years old, to train them as professionals and to represent Singapore. During that time, many Singaporean parents shun the idea of their children taking up professional sports and although we had promising talents, they did not continue to the national level. Academic qualifications, especially a college degree, were a better bet for employment. Perhaps, the best result was from Yao Lei and Shinta Mulia Sari who won the Singapore Open WD 2010 against strong opposition: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Singapore_Super_Series Shinta Mulia Sari / Lei Yao beat 5 Kim Min-jung / Lee Hyo-jung 21-17, 22-20 To see Yao Lei and Shinta being developed from young and able win this international tournament was rather heartwarming. Although YL has left for sports-related studies, Shinta is still with us. And Ronald Susilo, (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Susilo) who originally came to study in Singapore, but whose badminton prowess was later spotted by the SBA, is another example of a foreign talent who continues to be an asset. My most memorable achievement of RS is his defeat of WR1 and Seed #1 Lin Dan in R32 at the Athens Olympics 2004. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badminton_at_the_2004_Summer_Olympics_–_Men's_singles Ronald Susilo(SIN) 15 15 Lin Dan (CHN) 12 10 RS also won the Japan Open 2004 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan_Open_(badminton) Ronald remains a Singapore citizen, married an Indonesian lady working in Singapore, and is now coaching. His children will be Singapore Citizens born in Singapore, although he is not. Yes, we also lost foreign talents, like Zhang Beiwen, who came to Singapore at 13, work hard as a trainee and had the opportunity to travel overseas for competitions, but SBA had to release her on account of discipline and a fallout with her coach. She now plays for the US and we wish her well. Our foreign talents help us raise our local badminton standards and keep Singapore involved in the international badminton scene. We are still represented in the Olympics and other international and regional games. Our Singapore Open series continue to be an important event in our sports calendar that draws big crowds. Because of its popularity, we have badminton as one of the core sports in our only Sports School, where many foreign coaches are employed to help students hone their skills. With sports being more accepted as a profession, we can expect more locals to turn professional and represent the country. Therefore, foreign talents, whether players or coaches, continue to contribute to our sports scene and our well-being."
Underdogs Wong and Liang to show Olympic bite Singapore badminton players Derek Wong (left) and Liang Xiaoyu. ST PHOTOS: KEVIN LIM Published May 6, 2016, 5:00 am SGT May Chen maychen@sph.com.sg Two more athletes will join Team Singapore's contingent at this August's Olympics after yesterday's world rankings earned badminton players Derek Wong and Liang Xiaoyu places in the singles events. They qualified by being ranked among the top 34 eligible for quota places, and will be the Republic's only shuttlers in Rio. While Wong will be marking his second straight Olympics, Liang will be making her debut - somewhat of a surprise given that she had been targeting the 2020 Tokyo Games. The 20-year-old said even though her world ranking started to rise high enough last year to put her in contention for an Olympic place, she did not think too much of it. "I wasn't too confident," she told The Straits Times yesterday. "I had just started playing in the Open category and I'm still one of the younger and more inexperienced players in the national team." But towards the end of last year, an upset win over 2013 world champion and world No. 2 Ratchanok Intanon raised her hopes of making the Rio Games. She qualified ranked 21st in the Badminton World Federation's (BWF) Olympic rankings. Said Liang, a Jiangsu native who followed her parents to Singapore in 2007, when her father started working here as a school badminton coach: "I'm going to be up against a lot of stronger players at the Olympics and I know many of them have a lot more experience than me. "But I'm not going to treat it like I'm just going to make up the numbers there. There wouldn't be much significance in going if that were the case." Team-mate Wong, 27, will be demanding more of himself too. He admitted that as a player who grabbed one of the last few quota places available - he was 31st in the BWF's Olympic singles rankings - he will be seen as the underdog. Said the world No. 63, a silver medallist at the 2014 Commonwealth Games: "It's going to be a very tough fight at the Olympics. But the Commonwealth Games has showed me that on my day, I can compete with some of the best players around. That's the mentality that I will bring to the Olympics." National chief coach Chua Yong Joo said the shuttlers will compete at the Indonesia Open at the end of the month and the Australian Open next month. But the bulk of preparation for the Olympics will be spent at home, with plans to invite players from other countries to Singapore to train with the team. With no doubles pairs making the cut, the badminton squad in Rio will be Singapore's smallest since the 2004 Olympics. The Republic fielded three shuttlers (two events) in Athens, five (four events) in Beijing, and four (three events) in London. Twenty-two Singapore athletes have qualified for Rio so far.
Commonwealth Games is nothing compare to the Olympics, standard too far apart. Derek, it about time for you to wake up or let the youngster takeover once the Rio Olympics end.
Commonwealth Games is nothing compare to the Olympics, standard too far apart. Derek, it about time for you to wake up or let the youngster takeover once the Rio Olympics end.
There s nothing wrong with Derek expressing his belief that he can cause an upset or two at Rio. At least he did it to Taufik at a World Championship. In that sense, he s better than MAS players ( excluding LCW ) who did not have the confidence to defeat Taufik. Derek has qualified for Rio, he worked for it, be happy for him. Don t make it sound like he s standing in the way of the youngsters. What makes you think the youngsters will do better than him and if so, who, how about naming one or two? Do you think the SBA is going to do better than before? First, SBA sounds like they will run out of money sooner or later. Second , are the coaches better than before. Third, this year s Singapore Open indicated the tournament was so poor they could not even afford the required screens to show scores for all spectators to enjoy matches at the basic level. ( can you imagine watching matches courtside and you could not see the scores because they were facing the other way?)
