Playing on Home Ground at KFF Singapore Badminton Open Gives us More Motivation to Fight: New Mixed Doubles Pair Terry Hee and Jin Yujia

Singapore's new mixed doubles pairing share their thoughts ahead of the 2025 KFF Singapore Badminton Open at the end of the month

PHOTO: SINGAPORE BADMINTON ASSOCIATION / DAVID TAN

This is a feature article written by SportPlus.sg for Kallang Alive Sports Management. For more sports events, programmes and human stories of Singapore Sports Hub, visit the Singapore Sports Hub's 'Here to Play' website.

“Third time’s the charm.”

If there’s anything that could describe Terry Hee and Jin Yujia’s young mixed doubles partnership, it would be just that. Formed in November 2024, the pair made it to the semi-finals of the Guwahati Masters, before clinching silver at the Odisha Masters—narrowly losing out to China’s Gao Jiaxuan and Tang Ruizhi.

While most new pairings require time to sync before reaching the top of a podium, Terry Hee and Jin Yujia needed just three tournaments to secure their first championship.

Beating India’s Bokka Navaneeth and Ritika Thaker in two straight sets at the finals of the Bangladesh International Challenge, Terry and Yujia were muted in their celebrations. For them, they had merely done what they had come to do.

PHOTO: SINGAPORE BADMINTON ASSOCIATION / DAVID TAN

“Everything was part of the plan. When Coach Paulus sent us to India and Bangladesh, our expectations were to win. There are bigger stages ahead of us so the Bangladesh Open was really just the beginning for a longer journey to qualify for the top Super 750 and Super 1000 tournaments,” shared Yujia.

The pair, under the guidance of National Doubles Head Coach Paulus Firman, now have their sights set on putting on a show for their home crowd at the KFF Singapore Badminton Open (KFFSBO) 2025. To them, nothing brings more honour than to walk out onto the court at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

With few tickets left - over 70% have been snapped up, and celebrations already ongoing to commemorate the special SG60 edition of the Super 750 event, this year’s KFFSBO is set to electrify Singapore Sports Hub even more than it has in previous years.

PHOTO: SINGAPORE BADMINTON ASSOCIATION / DAVID TAN

The strong local crowd—which fills the stadium year after year—is what pushes Team Singapore athletes to leave it all on the court.

“Playing on home soil, it will always feel very different because you know the whole stadium is behind you,” smiled Yujia.

“Especially when they announce your name and you walk out, or each time you score a point, we can hear everyone cheering. When we go overseas for tournaments, we’re not one of the top few pairs who get a lot of attention. In Singapore, as Singaporeans, we naturally get a lot of support. I treasure the KFFSBO a lot and I want to at least show a good fight where we’re able to keep up with the top players in front of the home crowd.”

“For me, playing at the KFFSBO always gives me extra energy. We always want to put on a good performance for our friends, family and fans. It gives me extra motivation to fight harder every time I step onto the court at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. Moreover, when we walk around the stadium or at Kallang Wave Mall, there are many fans waiting to greet us and take pictures or get autographs. It’s really kind of them and I love it,” added Terry.

PHOTO: SINGAPORE BADMINTON ASSOCIATION / DAVID TAN

Both Yujia and Terry have featured at several editions of the KFFSBO, albeit with different partners.

Terry had previously partnered with his wife Jessica Tan up until the latter’s retirement in April 2025. The duo had reached a career-high ranking of World No. 13, were crowned Commonwealth Games Mixed Doubles Champions in 2022 and represented Singapore at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

For Yujia, the 28-year-old not only had a change of partners, but also a switch in disciplines. Previously teamed up with Crystal Wong, the women’s doubles pair won eight titles, and had reached a career-high ranking of World No.16. Now playing a whole new game as a mixed-doubles shuttler, what forced Yujia to adapt was the speed of the rallies.

“It’s two totally different games. In women’s doubles, it often becomes a test of stamina. But in the mixed doubles, there’s more strategising involved. The level and speed is different when you play with men, it’s a lot fiercer and faster. Additionally, my role is different as compared to in the women’s doubles. My defence needs to be more solid and I need to learn how to set up for my partner,” explained Yujia.

PHOTO: SINGAPORE BADMINTON ASSOCIATION / DAVID TAN

“For me, it’s more or less similar and I do my usual thing. I’ve been playing mixed doubles for many years but of course with a different partner, I need to adapt to a different playing style, keep getting stronger and build on my individual strength so I can complement the partnership,” added Terry.

Despite being a pair on the court for only seven months so far, Terry and Yujia have risen up the Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings, sitting at World No. 27 at the time of writing. For the duo however, focus has and will continue to be on gelling even better on the court, and making waves towards bigger things.

“We didn’t really focus on rankings because we tried to focus more on the process of every game, how we played, and what were some of the new problems we faced,” said Yujia.

Terry and Yujia also had nothing but praise for their guide and strength, Coach Firman, whom Terry credits for helping to keep his head in the game when it gets heated.

“His pep talks usually revolve around mental strength. He’ll encourage me to be more patient and to not rush into going for the kill thus making unforced errors. He’ll remind me about making the right shot selections too,” explained Terry.

Yujia added: “Coach focuses a lot on the small details, which he can pick up on very fast, so that we can tweak the little things which may end up making a big difference to our game. I think that’s very important.”

Action at the KFFSBO will begin on Tuesday 27th May at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, with the finals set to be played on Sunday 1st June. As seen at previous editions, fans will have the chance to meet the players at the fan village, something the duo is looking forward to.

“Thank you to those who have come down to watch us play in previous years, and we hope you continue to do so this year, supporting our Team Singapore athletes whether we win or lose. We hope to see you at the meet-and-greet sessions!” said Terry.

If you’re hoping to catch and support our Team Singapore shuttlers, be quick, as tickets are going fast! Grab your tickets here. #SgBadminton #TeamSG #KFFSBO2025