Terry Hee and Jin Yujia clinch silver at Odisha Masters

Despite defeat in the Odisha Masters final on Dec 15, Singapore’s new mixed doubles partnership of Terry Hee and Jin Yujia is showing promise, less than a month after being formed.

In only their second competition as a pair, 292nd-ranked Hee and Jin lost 15-21, 21-15, 21-15 in 54 minutes to China’s world No. 206 Gao Jiaxuan and Tang Ruizhi to finish runners-up at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Cuttack, India.

They took home US$3,800 (S$5,130) at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Tour Super 100 event, while the winners bagged US$7,900.

In the previous week, they competed as a pair for the first time at the Guwahati Masters, where they defeated Gao and Tang 21-13, 21-12 in the first round before a semi-final defeat by England’s Rory Easton and Lizzie Tolman, who were then ranked No. 72.

Hee said: “Of course, we want to win matches every time we go on court, but we need to trust the process and take it slow.

“It is already good progress for our first two tournaments getting to semi-finals and final of two Super 100 tournaments as a new duo. This is not a sprint but a marathon to the 2028 Olympics.

“This silver is definitely a boost to our partnership, but the boost would have been greater if we had won.

“We are learning as each match goes by, and we are still exploring different playing styles.”

Hee, 29, had also finished runners-up at the Odisha Masters final and won the Guwahati Masters in 2023 while partnering his wife Jessica Tan, who is recovering from injuries.

Jin, 27, added: “There are still a lot of things to learn in this partnership. I’m naturally grateful to be given this opportunity to play alongside Terry.

“With his guidance and experience, I’ve learnt a lot in these few weeks. With every match, we learn more about ourselves and discover our shortcomings.

“It’s good that these problems surface early right now, so we know what we need to improve on going forward.”

In their first game against the Chinese on Dec 15, the Singaporeans lost two points in quick succession but stamped their mark as they racked up seven points in a row to lead 7-2.

Gao and Tang narrowed the gap with four straight points, but Hee and Jin then extended their advantage with a five-point run to lead 12-6 before taking the first game 21-15.

It was deja vu in Game 2 as the Chinese pair claimed the first two points, before Hee and Jin fought back with three straight points.

This time, though, it was Gao and Tang who pulled away as their fast reactions saw them reel in eight consecutive points to lead 13-5 and close out the second game 21-15.

Going for the jugular in the final game, Hee and Jin quickly took a 5-2 lead.

But the Singaporeans seemed to struggle with Gao’s smashes, as the Chinese levelled the score at 6-6 before surging ahead. They won 21-15 to clinch the title in only their fourth tournament as a pair.

National doubles head coach Paulus Firman will be looking to fix the Singaporeans’ weaknesses.

The Indonesian said: “Even though the opportunity to become champions presented itself today after they won the first game, they could not take advantage of it.

“They are still finding their chemistry especially since they are a new pair who started training less than a month ago.

“Good chemistry can make communication smoother and increase trust between players in a match.

“The best mixed doubles pair behave not as two excellent individuals but as one outstanding team.”

Hee and Jin will next play at the Bangladesh International Challenge in Dhaka from Dec 17-21 and will face home hopes Chand Lal and Smrity Rajbongshi in the round of 16.