Development of young talent key for badminton to thrive says Mohammad Ahsan

SINGAPORE - It was an experience to cherish for two primary school pupils – eight-year-old Kev Chong and Joshua Tan, 10 – as they shared the court with former Indonesian badminton star Mohammad Ahsan on June 22.

Rather than nerves, Kev felt “proud and honoured” to be given the chance of sparring against the three-time doubles world champion and former world No. 1.

The Kong Hwa Primary School pupil added: “I wasn’t really nervous, I was thinking that this is just a sparring game, it wasn’t a competition.”

St Andrew’s Junior School’s Joshua, on the other hand, was “very excited” at his first opportunity to play with an Olympian during the exhibition match which also featured Wyse Active director Daniel Yudi Kurniawan.

The two youngsters are members of the Wyse Active talent development programme for players aged from seven to 13.

The exhibition match was among the activities held to mark the opening of the Victor concept store at the centre in Jurong East which featured 32 air-conditioned badminton courts. Also present was former minister Dr Maliki Osman, the patron-in-chief of the Singapore Badminton Association.

For Ahsan, an ambassador of sports goods maker Victor with his long-time doubles partner Hendra Setiawan, the development of young talent is key to the growth of the sport in the region.

He told The Straits Times: “It is very important to support the kids, to support them financially, to support the ecosystem.”

Such moves are especially important for badminton in Indonesia, which he said is experiencing a reset after a lacklustre return from the Paris Olympics in 2024, when they came home with the women’s singles bronze medal by Gregoria Tunjung.

Historically, Indonesia’s badminton players have done well at the Games, nabbing eight gold, six silver, and eight bronze medals since 1988. Their last