Badminton: Singapore's Jason Teh wins Thailand Masters, claims first major singles title
Teh outlasted China's Wang Zheng Xing in the final of the Super 300 tournament 21-18, 15-21, 21-19 to take the victory.
Singapore's Jason Teh poses with the Thailand Masters trophy. (Photo: Singapore Badminton Association)
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SINGAPORE: There would be no denying Singapore's Jason Teh on Sunday (Feb 2) as he claimed the first major singles title of his career.
Teh outlasted China's Wang Zheng Xing in a nail-biting men's singles final of the Thailand Masters at the Nimibutr Stadium in Bangkok 21-18, 15-21, 21-19.
"I'm very happy to win my first title. Honestly I was thinking about winning the title already at 18-18 in the third game which caused me to commit unforced errors as I was rushing. But luckily I was able to reset and get back on track," said Teh, who flung his racket to the ground and whipped off his shirt exuberantly after taking the victory.
This is his third career meeting with world number 39 Wang. Teh has now won two of their meetings.
"I know Wang is not easy to beat so I was just ready for a long and tough match coming into the finals ... My next goals are to improve my ranking bit by bit, and continue a high intensity of training," added the 24-year-old.
Singapore's singles head coach Kim Ji-hyun said the win would be a "huge confidence booster" as Teh makes his All England debut next month.
"Of course, Jason understands that this is just a stepping stone to ultimately getting on the podium at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics," she said.
Teh, who was the Super 300Â tournament's fourth seed, reached a career-high rank of world number 30 earlier this week.Â
He is the second-highest-ranked men's singles player in Singapore, behind compatriot Loh Kean Yew, who is 11th.Â
He has been on a stellar run of form of late.
Last month, Teh reached the quarter-finals of the Indonesia Masters where he upset Japan's world number nine Kodai Naraoka. He also made the finals of five tournaments in 2024.
Kim said she was over the moon at Teh's "breakthrough".
"He has been working so hard by himself over the past many months, and his efforts have finally paid off," she said.
"He needs to remain focused on the next chapter of his journey, now aiming for lofty goals like winning in the Super 500, 750 and 1000 series. We will get there together."
