S'porean Jason Teh scores career win over Naraoka at Indonesia Masters
He sank to his knees for a brief moment, but immediately sprang up to punch the air in delight. It was a fitting celebration for Singapore’s No. 2 badminton men’s singles player Jason Teh, who has had to deal with more disappointing defeats than big wins.
On Jan 23, the 24-year-old produced the biggest victory of his budding career as he beat world No. 9 Kodai Naraoka 21-19, 21-16 in the last 16 of the Indonesia Masters at the Istora Senayan in Jakarta.
He will take on Thailand’s world champion and world No. 5 Kunlavut Vitidsarn in the quarter-finals of the US$475,000 (S$644,300) Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Super 500 event.
He told The Straits Times: “I feel lucky and happy to win against Kodai today. I was mentally prepared for a long match against a rally player like Kodai, so I was just pushing myself to the max, especially after three long games yesterday.
“The key to winning today is really staying patient and be focused in every point as if it was the last. Naturally I’m happy with today’s win, but I’m not satisfied because I know I still have much more to learn to stay at the highest levels of tournaments.
“I have nothing to lose playing against Kunlavut, so the pressure is on him. I will enjoy the match and give my 100 per cent.”
According to the match commentator, world No. 33 Teh had never beaten any top-10 player in five attempts, taking just one game off India’s then 10th-ranked Lakshya Sen in his 2022 Commonwealth Games men’s singles semi-final loss.
But he has been on the upward trajectory after reaching five finals in the BWF World Tour and International Challenge circuits in 2024, even if he lost all of them.
Against Japan’s 2023 World Championships silver medallist Naraoka, Teh again highlighted his potential with a fearless display. While he showed old frailties, there were also hints of new confidence as he kept up in the long rallies against a defensive opponent, was proactive at the net and became increasingly decisive with his ferocious kills.
He was down 7-11 at the interval of the opening game and trailing 13-16 when he went on a seven-point run to earn four game points. While he often crumbled in the past from such advantageous positions with lots of unforced errors, he remained focused despite losing three game points to convert a cross-court smash.
There was another key moment in the second game, when Teh raced to a 9-3 lead, only for Naraoka to win six of the next seven points to turn up the heat in the battle between two headbanded hunters.
But the Singaporean patiently stalked his prey to win a 70-shot rally with a diagonal clear into the corner of the back court to enter the interval with an 11-9 lead and never looked back, ramping up the tempo before converting his second match point.
Curiously, this extends Naroka’s winless record against Singaporeans Loh Kean Yew and Teh to eight matches at the senior level.
In the first round on Jan 22, Teh had shown similar resolve when he bounced back from squandering four game points in the opening game to beat Denmark’s 28th-ranked Rasmus Gemke 20-22, 21-17, 22-20.
He said: “I have learnt a lot from my past losses, and I am working on improving my mental condition during matches. It is a fine line between not being complacent when leading with a clutch of points, and not despairing when down a number of points.”
National women’s singles head coach Kim Ji-hyun, who is also overseeing the men’s singles players, praised Teh’s patience and ability to counter Naraoka’s flat drive and net shots, as well as his variation in speed to prevent the Japanese from getting into any rhythm.
She added: “This is just one in many more victories we need in order to get Jason to the 2028 Olympics. It’s a delight to work with Jason as he’s so hungry to learn. We need to utilise his height (1.83m) to our advantage and hone his attacking skills.
“This is his first Super 500 quarter-final ever, and I am so proud of him for overcoming the fatigue of his three-game match yesterday and being focused on winning today.”
Teh is the last Singaporean player standing in the tournament after men’s singles world No. 12 Loh and women’s singles world No. 14 Yeo Jia Min lost their respective first-round matches on Jan 22.
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