Podium finish at Asian Games the target for Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew and Yeo Jia Min, says coach

“Everyone’s just trying to catch up because she’s always reaching new standards and levels, and we’re just trying to see how to find her weaknesses and stuff like that,” said Yeo. “So definitely, she’s the favourite to win on our end.”

EMBRACING THE GAMES

It has been a tough year on court for Yeo, who has been stricken by injury. She last competed at the Australian Badminton Open in June, where she had to retire in the round of 16.

“I haven’t been participating in the past tournaments because I’m trying to take care of my body first, with the advice of doctors and also my physical trainer. For us, the goal was for me to be ready for the Asian Games. Thankfully, it’s been going so far quite well,” she said.

“I am definitely not 100 per cent but … I will definitely be trying to push it to prepare my best.”

Yeo added that the goal for her is to play her best and not leave with any regrets.

For Loh, it has been a packed year, which has seen him compete in more than 10 Badminton World Federation tournaments while recovering from injury. Most recently, he was eliminated in the round of 16 at the China Masters.

“Throughout this period, I’ve been trying to build up my physical strength and body, and I think so far it has been built up quite well. But with this limited time, I’m just doing whatever I can,” he said.

Koh and Kubo, a relatively new doubles partnership ranked 42nd in the world, said they are excited to compete.

“It’s our first Asian Games together, so I think definitely we are excited, and I think we just want to gather as much experience as we can as a pair,” said Koh.

“It’s just something new, and we want to just embrace the whole Games and just take as much as we can.”