PETALING JAYA: Men’s singles shuttler Eogene Ewe (pic) has vowed to continue to prove his worth in the senior national team after breaking into the world’s top 100 for the first time.
The 19-year-old was one of the players retained by the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) along with Ng Tze Yong, Leong Jun Hao and Justin Hoh while his seniors Jacky Kok, Chua Kim Sheng, Ong Zhen Yi and Lee Jan Jireh were all dropped last month.
Eogene understands that he needs to earn the right to continue to keep his place in the BAM and the national body will not be patient for long if he does not progress well in the next two years.
The teenager, who recently reached a career high No. 99 in the rankings, is happy with his progress so far but acknowledged that he needed to do even more to continue to justify the faith of the coaches in him.
Eogene was ranked as low as No. 298 in the beginning of the year but has quietly worked hard to climb up the rankings.
He captured the National Under-21 Championships in March and reached the semi-finals of the International Challenge tournaments in Vietnam and at home.
Eogene also gained valuable experience when he was included in the team that went on to win silver in the Asia Team Championships in Setia Alam in February.
“I’m happy with my progress this year. My target at the beginning of the year was to move up into the world’s top 100 and I have achieved this. This is a good start for me for next year,” said Eogene after a training session at the Academy Badminton Malaysia (ABM) in Bukit Kiara yesterday.
“I know that I need to do well to remain in the national team. If players don’t improve when they are given time to do so, it’s fair that they are dropped.
“This gives me pressure but for me this is good as it pushes me to improve.”
Eogene aims to break into the world’s top 32 in two years’ time.
“My target is to move up into the world’s top 32 by the end of 2026. Next year, I hope to get into the top 64 first,” said Eogene.
“Ultimately, my biggest dream is to play in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. I need to keep working on my skills and strategy to meet my targets.”
