Consistency, Discipline and Hydration: The Fuel to Yeo Jia Min's Journey to the SEA Games
- Hana Basir
- 5 hours ago
- 3 min read
As the countdown to the SEA Games in Thailand enters its final month, Yeo Jia Min opens up to SportPlus.sg about the mindset and motivation that keep her going strong
With the Southeast Asian Games 2025 set to take Thailand by storm this December, Singapore’s national shuttler Yeo Jia Min is entering the final stretch of preparations.
Known for her tenacity and focus, Yeo is fine-tuning every aspect of her game—from training intensity to recovery routines—as she aims to deliver her best performance on the regional stage. With Southeast Asia home to some of the sport’s toughest competitors, the world No. 12 is gearing up for a fierce battle at Thammasat University, the stage for this year’s badminton events.
Having competed in every SEA Games edition since 2015, Yeo is still chasing her first individual medal. However, she has been a consistent contributor to Singapore’s success in the women’s team event, helping secure bronze for five consecutive editions.
For Yeo, success begins with a strong foundation built on self-discipline and consistent effort.
“Discipline is definitely fundamental for any athlete. Consistency, for me, is particularly important because when I’m consistent, I’ll be able to pinpoint my faults and continue to work on them,” explained the 26-year-old.
“If I'm inconsistent, then it’s very hard for me to know if I have improved in certain areas. To be a champion, you need to be consistent throughout—from the first round all the way to the finals. I have to keep this up even in training.”
Often travelling for the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour circuit, her training days are intense, demanding both physical stamina and mental sharpness. Maintaining that high level of performance, she admits, is no easy feat.
Just last year, Yeo broke barriers in her career, advancing past the group stage in the Paris 2024 Olympics for the first time. This made her the first Singaporean women’s singles player to do so in 12 years. It was a narrow three-set battle against Ayo Ohori that ultimately ended her fairytale run.
Yeo then went on to clinch gold in the 2025 German Open, a Super 300 event in the BWF World Tour, beating Vietnam’s Nguyen Thuy Linh in the finals.
“I’d say maintaining the intensity for every point on the court or every rep in the gym is the hardest thing about training,” she said truthfully.
“On the court, there may be distractions—it may be fatigue from the previous day of training or thinking about how to make up for what I missed in the last point and execute it better in the next. There’s a lot for me to think about on the court so maintaining that intensity in every point is what’s most challenging.”
Beyond the hours on court, Yeo is equally mindful of her recovery process—something she sees as essential to staying fresh and ready for competition.
“For recovery, hydration is just as important as training. Being as fresh as possible every day—even if not 100%—means that nutrition, hydration, and sleep are the most important factors.. Drinks like 100PLUS make me feel more hydrated because of its salt and electrolyte content.”
As the Games draw nearer, Yeo’s focus remains steady: train hard, recover smart, and perform with consistency. With Thailand and Malaysia in particular sending their A Teams, it’ll sure be a test, possibly having to face powerhouses such as Ratchanok Intanon, Pornpawee Chochuwong and Busanan Ongbamrungphan—who Yeo defeated on home ground recently at the Singapore Badminton Open 2025.
With discipline and determination guiding her every move though, Yeo is ready to bring her best game to the SEA Games stage once again. Catch Yeo Jia Min in action at the 33rd SEA Games! Explore full coverage of the Games on SportPlus.sg in our ASEAN Sports and SEA Games sites.
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