Grooming talent key for sport to flourish: Ahsan

It was an experience to cherish for two primary school pupils - eight-year-old Kev Chong and Joshua Tan, 10 - as they shared the court with former Indonesian badminton star Mohammad Ahsan on June 22.

- Hana Chen

Rather than nerves, Kev felt "proud and honoured" to be given the chance of sparring against the three-time doubles world champion and former world No. 1.

The Kong Hwa Primary School pupil added: "I wasn't really nervous, I was thinking that this is just a sparring game, it wasn't a competition."

St Andrew's Junior School's Joshua, on the other hand, was "very excited" at his first opportunity to play with an Olympian during the exhibition match, which also featured Wyse Active director Daniel Yudi Kurniawan.

The two youngsters are members of the Wyse Active Talent Development Programme for players aged seven to 13.

The exhibition match was among the activities held to mark the opening of the Victor concept store at the centre, which features 32 air-conditioned badminton courts, in Jurong East.

Also present was Dr Maliki Osman, former minister and the patron-in-chief of the Singapore Badminton Association.

For Ahsan, an ambassador of sports goods maker Victor with his long-time doubles partner Hendra Setiawan, the development of young talent is key to the growth of the sport in the region.