Story contributed by Christopher Ong

U-15 doubles champions

Terry Hee (left) and Gerald Ong of Singapore Sports School in action during their doubles final. (Photo courtesy of Singapore Badminton Association)

Yio Chu Kang Sports Hall, September 6, 2008 – The future of badminton is bright in Singapore, judging from the talent on display at Saturday's Cheers Age-Group (Doubles) Badminton Championships 2008 finals.

In particular, the performance of Youth Olympic Games hopefuls Gerald Ong and Terry Hee in the Under-15 boys doubles final will inspire hope that Singapore can put on a good showing at the 2010 Games.

At the Yio Chu Kang Sports Hall, the third-seeds put on a display of attacking badminton to dispatch second-seeds Chay Sai Kin and Alton Chew, 21-10, 16-21, 21-11.

Despite their win, the Singapore Sports School duo was far from satisfied. Said Terry, 13: "We were ok. Except in the second match where we were rash and made a lot of simple mistakes as a result."

Gerald, 14, concurred, adding: "I think they were under pressure from being seeded higher than us."

Despite being the underdogs, they were near unstoppable in the first-set, racing into a 9-0 lead. While Alton and Sai Kin fought back in the second-set, Gerald and Terry showed their class to emerge tops in the rubber-set.

The strapping Gerald made the most of his height and strength, leaping up to hit some powerful smashes that his opponents simply had no answer to.

Previously tipped by sections of the media to represent Singapore in 2010, Gerald said: "I'm aiming to be selected for the YOG and win it."

However, if either Gerald or Terry qualifies, they hope to be playing in the singles competition instead of the doubles.

Said Gerald: "We are mainly singles players. For this competition, we didn't have much chance to train as a pair, but because we had previous experience as doubles players, we had the basic footwork and co-ordination needed."

The Under-17 boys doubles final was another match to remember, with Andrianus Prasojo Adi and Nathawit Mutanon of Montfort Secondary School emerging tops.

They best Koh Jia Yi and Tan Kia Hwee of the Singapore Sports School 19-21, 23-21, 21-15.

After a stuttering start, the Montfort duo sought out their coach's advice and returned to dominate the next two sets with a combination of Nathawit's deft backhand and Andrianus power.

Said Andrianus: "We were unfocused and lacking in confidence after the first set, but thankfully with our coach's help and by encouraging each other, we gained the belief to win."

And like Gerald, he is dreaming big, saying: "I'm looking forward to hopefully competing in the Youth Olympics for Singapore in 2010."

U-17 doubles champions

Andrianus Prasojo Adi (left) and Nathawit Mutanon of Montfort Secondary in action during the U-17 final. (Photo courtesy of Singapore Badminton Association)