The Singapore Badminton Association (SBA) will be sending its best male and female shuttlers to the 2025 SEA Games, fielding a total of 18 athletes for all the individual events, as well as for the men’s team and women’s team events.
Making their debut at the SEA Games are Ding Hanjin, 18 (men’s team), Kriston Choo, 23 (men’s team and mixed doubles), and sisters Li Zhenghong, 18, and Li Zhengyan, 17 (women’s team and women’s doubles).
Ding Hanjin, a member of the National Training Squad and a student at Raffles Institution, had to juggle preparation for his A-Level exams and competing at sufficient international tournaments to be ready for the SEA Games. Ding, who plays men’s singles, made it to the quarterfinals of the Latvia International and the round of 16 at the Bendigo International this year, and is delighted with the opportunity to represent Singapore. At Raffles Institution, Ding was coached by Ronald Susilo, a two-time Olympian and winner of four medals across three editions of the SEA Games.
Ding said: “I am overjoyed and very proud to have the privilege to represent Singapore in the SEA Games for the first time this year. I look forward to gaining more experience as well as learning from the many world-class players who will be present at the Games. More importantly, I hope to be able to contribute to the success of the team, be it playing on court or supporting from the sidelines.”
As one of the youngest members of SBA’s SEA Games squad this year, it has not been an easy journey to being selected. Ding added: “Leading up to the Games I found it hard to juggle my commitments between badminton and my studies as a student in JC. On school days, I would attend training after classes from 5.15pm to 8.30pm daily. During overseas tournaments, I would try my best to prepare for upcoming tests and exams in between matches, although it wasn’t easy to stay focused on both at once. Thankfully, my teachers at school and classmates have been offering the extra academic assistance as much as possible. Importantly, my parents have been a great source of support, guiding me through life and encouraging me to pursue my passions without putting too much pressure on me. I’m grateful that my Head Coach Kelvin Ho has been very understanding of my situation and often discusses my schedule as well as plans with me. Overall, for both the A-Levels and SEA Games, I will strive to give my all.”
Singapore won three bronzes at the 2023 SEA Games: in both the men’s team and women’s team events, and in the men’s doubles individual event. Loh Kean Yew, Jason Teh and Yeo Jia Min participated in the team events in 2023, but could not play the men’s singles and women’s singles individual events due to a scheduling clash with the BWF Sudirman Cup in Suzhou. Most of the top players from the Southeast Asian countries were also absent from the individual events in the 2023 SEA Games. This year, all three singles players are looking forward to flying the Singapore flag high in both the team and individual events.
Yeo said: “I have been looking forward to SEA Games this year after missing out on taking part in the individual event last edition. Though most of this year has been physically and mentally more challenging than I expected in the process of getting back my form due to my injuries, I’m remaining positive that I will overcome this. I’m putting all my focus in the upcoming weeks to prepare well. I hope you all will continue to give us your fullest support.”
Jason Teh enjoyed his career breakthrough this year winning the BWF Thailand Masters Super 300 tournament, and had taken part in three editions of the SEA Games since 2019. He won a bronze medal in the individual men’s singles event in Vietnam in 2021. Teh said: “After missing the individual event in 2023 due to the Sudirman Cup, I’m hungry to compete again this year. Hopefully I can better my bronze in Vietnam and secure a medal for Singapore again.”
SBA will be organising a centralised training camp in Singapore between 24 November to 4 December, and players from Taipei are expected to be sparring partners for our national athletes. The team events are scheduled from 7 to 10 December, and the individual events will follow from 11 to 14 December. National singles head coach Kim Ji Hyun said: “The SEA Games is one of the most important competitions for us so I want the team to be very well-prepared when they are playing for their country. I had previously arranged for top ten players like Kunlavut Vitidsarn and Alex Lanier to come train with our players in Singapore. But these players are committed to many BWF tournaments in the final quarter of 2025, and we thought we would instead try a different sparring team from Taiwan in the lead-up to the SEA Games. I admit we will face tough competition this time as our neighbours are putting their best players forward like us. We will analyse the gameplay of our opponents and be ready for the battle ahead!”
The men’s doubles players, albeit a young squad, are gearing up well for the SEA Games with both pairs – Wesley Koh and Kubo Junsuke, and Donovan Wee and Howin Wong – making the finals of the Mangalore India International Challenge on Sunday. Koh and Kubo beat their teammates in straight games to clinch the title. Kubo said: “We are naturally thrilled to win our first title this year. From the past week, we have learned so much about our playing style and mental strength. We will add these lessons to our arsenal and this is indeed a confidence booster for us before the SEA Games.” Koh added: “We will continue to train hard, play hard and enjoy the process. Although we are not amongst the top-ranked players, we want to cause some upsets and bring home a medal.”
SBA is hoping to bring home four medals from this outing. SBA CEO Woo Kaiwei said: “We are cognisant that many countries, such as Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia, are sending their best teams with a good number of the top ten players competing in this edition of the SEA Games. Nonetheless, we are cautiously confident. Our players are putting in their hard work, and we have set ambitious targets for them. We hope Singaporeans will cheer them on!”
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SEA GAMES 2025 Participants List – Badminton
Men’s Team Event
Loh Kean Yew
Jason Teh
Joel Koh
Ding Hanjin
Terry Hee
Wesley Koh
Kubo Junsuke
Howin Wong
Donovan Wee
Kriston Choo
Women’s Team Event
Yeo Jia Min
Jaslyn Hooi
Insyirah Khan
Megan Lee
Jin Yujia
Heng Xiao En
Li Zhenghong
Li Zhengyan
Individual Event – Men’s Singles
Loh Kean Yew
Jason Teh
Individual Event – Women’s Singles
Yeo Jia Min
Jaslyn Hooi
Individual Event – Men’s Doubles
Wesley Koh and Kubo Junsuke
Donovan Wee and Howin Wong
Individual Event – Women’s Doubles
Jin Yujia and Heng Xiao En
Li Zhenghong and Li Zhengyan
Individual Event – Mixed Doubles
Terry Hee and Jin Yujia
Kriston Choo and Heng Xiao En