Marriage can wait, it’s Rio first

SINGAPORE — As far as Derek Wong is concerned, everything has been put on the back-burner as he plots his path towards the Rio De Janeiro Olympics in 2016.

For Singapore’s No 1 men singles badminton player, the Olympics in the Brazilian capital two years from now is his priority — and nothing can come in between, not marriage or a full-time career.

“Getting a shot at the Rio Olympics is the No 1 priority,” said the 25-year-old, whose girlfriend is national shuttler Vanessa Neo, and who holds a business administration diploma from the Singapore Institute of Management.

“I qualified for the London Olympics in 2012, but I want another chance to be at the Rio Games. So, marriage is out for now, and Vanessa understands that. In fact, we have pledged to be at the Olympics together, and marriage can come after that.

“So, we have a common goal and it’s good for our badminton careers. I will be 27 by then, and it will not be too late to look for a job or a career outside badminton.”

Neo, 26, is ranked 17th in the world with Danny Bawa Chrisnanta in the mixed doubles, and the duo went as far as the quarter-finals at the recent All-England Championship.

Wong, however, is 45th in the singles and his immediate task is to improve on that and, by extension, his performances on the world circuit.

While Wong’s father, Shoon Keat, has the distinction of being Singapore’s last SEA Games men’s singles champion when the Games was held here in 1983, the younger Wong has not won any noteworthy titles to date.

Nor has he beaten any big names since 2011, when he scalped Indonesia’s Taufik Hidayat in the second round of the World Championships, as well as Vietnam’s Nguyen Tien Minh in the quarter-finals of the SEA Games.

His biggest win since then was over Indonesia’s world No 19 Dionysius Rumbaka in the first round of the German Open last month.

“That, followed by the hard-fought three-set loss to Japan’s world No 26 Sho Sasaki at the All-England, has given me the confidence to look forward to better days in my badminton career,” said Wong, who had exited the All-England in the first round. “It shows I have what it takes to match the top 20 players and that I am making progress. Maybe what I need now is a good run in a Super Series tournament to provide me with the psychological breakthrough.”

Wong is certainly hoping that next month’s US$300,000 (S$382,000) OUE Singapore Open at the Singapore Indoor Stadium will provide him with the platform to begin his climb up the rankings.

And given the small pool of talent in Singapore, he is also hoping that the Singapore Badminton Association (SBA) can provide some “outside help” too.

“Let’s be honest. We don’t have depth in the men’s singles and, therefore, the sparring sessions we are having aren’t quite up to the required mark,” he noted. “We need to spar with higher-ranked players constantly in order to improve our game,” he noted.

“Recently, Tien Minh, who is world No 10, was here for two weeks to spar with us. It was beneficial for us. There is talk that Simon Santoso, the Singapore Open runner-up four years ago, will be here to do the same.”

Wong has faith that new Singapore head coach, China-born Liu Qingdong, who took charge last month, can help lift his game to new heights. “Liu represents a new breed of coaches who have a different outlook to the game. He is more analytical and brings fresh enthusiasm to the job,” he said.

“We spent time talking about my game and he has told me that I must be a complete player — strong in defence, subtle in the net play and consistent in long rallies. Not to mention having a powerful smash.

“I will be working more on these areas from here on.”