Terry Hee Yong Kai (Chinese: 許永凱; born 6 July 1995) is a Singaporean badminton player.[5] In mixed doubles with Jessica Tan, Hee won his first World Tour title at the 2022 India Open.[6] Hee together with Jessica Tan also won the gold medal in the mixed doubles event at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, a first for Singapore in that discipline at the Games. Terry Hee and his wife Jessica Tan were nominated for the Straits Times Singaporean of the Year Award 2022.[7] Terry Hee and Jessica Tan are Singapore's first local-born mixed doubles duo to qualify for the Olympics, and will make their debut at the Paris Olympics 2024.[8]

Terry Hee
許永凱
Personal information
Full nameTerry Hee Yong Kai
CountrySingapore
Born (1995-07-06) 6 July 1995 (age 29)
Singapore[1][2][3][4]
Height1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Weight65 kg (143 lb)
Years active2014–present
HandednessRight
Men's & mixed doubles
Highest ranking22 (MD with Loh Kean Hean 27 December 2022)
13 (XD with Jessica Tan 3 January 2023)
Current ranking17 (XD with Jessica Tan 13 August 2024)
Medal record
Men's badminton
Representing  Singapore
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 2022 Birmingham Mixed doubles
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Glasgow Mixed team
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Birmingham Mixed team
Asia Team Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Selangor Men's team
SEA Games
Bronze medal – third place 2015 Singapore Men's team
Bronze medal – third place 2017 Kuala Lumpur Men's team
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Philippines Men's team
Bronze medal – third place 2021 Vietnam Men's doubles
Bronze medal – third place 2021 Vietnam Men's team
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Cambodia Men's team
BWF profile

Early life

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Hee was born in Singapore and enrolled in the Singapore Sports School on a scholarship when he was 13.[1][2][3][4][9] He began playing badminton professionally for Singapore in 2014, after going through the youth system at the Singapore Sports School (SBA)'s badminton academy.[6][10]

Career

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2014–2018: Early senior career

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Hee won the mixed team bronze medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland.[11] He was also part of the national team that won the men's team bronze medals at the 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021, and the 2023 SEA Games.[12] He made his second appearance at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast 2018.[13]

2022: Commonwealth Games success

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Hee and Tan with other Singapore Olympians during an open-top bus parade in 2024

Hee opened the 2022 season by winning the mixed doubles title at the India Open partnering Jessica Tan.[6] The duo later captured their second World Tour title of the year by winning the Orléans Masters.[14]

In May 2022, Hee competed at the 2021 SEA Games. He won the bronze medals in the men's team and doubles events.[15][16]

 
Hee and Tan after winning the mixed doubles final at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England

At the 2022 Commonwealth Games in August, Hee was part of the Singaporean team who won the bronze medal in the mixed team events as the Singaporean team defeated England 3–0 at the bronze medal playoff.[17][18] Hee had also competed at the individual mixed doubles event with his wife, Tan. They won a historic gold medal and Singapore's first Commonwealth Games badminton mixed doubles gold after beating England's Marcus Ellis and Lauren Smith in the final, with a score of 21–16, 21–15 in straight sets.[19]

Personal life

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Hee married fellow Singaporean shuttler Jessica Tan in October, 2021. They had often partnered at mixed doubles tournaments since the start of Hee's professional career.[20] Their victory at the 2021 Czech Open, defeating Russians Lev Barinov and Anastasiia Boiarun, was their first tournament as a married duo.[20] They were made HSBC Life Singapore's first brand ambassadors in 2023. In 2024, Singlife committed to a sponsorship deal with the couple upon their Olympic qualification.[21]

Awards and nominations

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Hee and Jessica Tan were nominated for the 2022 ST Athlete of the Year Award.[22] They were also conferred the Team of the Year (Event) award in the Singapore Sports Awards 2023 by the Singapore National Olympic Council.[23]

Achievements

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Commonwealth Games

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Mixed doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result Ref
2022 National Exhibition Centre,
Birmingham, England
  Jessica Tan   Marcus Ellis
  Lauren Smith
21–16, 21–15   Gold [19]

SEA Games

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Men's doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result Ref
2021 Bac Giang Gymnasium,
Bắc Giang, Vietnam
  Loh Kean Hean   Pramudya Kusumawardana
  Yeremia Rambitan
21–15, 17–21, 19–21   Bronze [16]

BWF World Tour (3 titles, 2 runner-up)

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The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018,[24] is a series of elite badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). The BWF World Tours are divided into levels of World Tour Finals, Super 1000, Super 750, Super 500, Super 300 (part of the HSBC World Tour), and the BWF Tour Super 100.[25]

Mixed doubles

Year Tournament Level Partner Opponent Score Result Ref
2022 India Open Super 500   Jessica Tan   Chen Tang Jie
  Peck Yen Wei
21–15, 21–18   Winner [6]
2022 Orléans Masters Super 100   Jessica Tan   Rehan Naufal Kusharjanto
  Lisa Ayu Kusumawati
21–12, 16–21, 21–13   Winner [14]
2023 Abu Dhabi Masters Super 100   Jessica Tan   Mads Vestergaard
  Christine Busch
22–20, 17–21, 18–21   Runner-up
2023 Guwahati Masters Super 100   Jessica Tan   Mads Vestergaard
  Christine Busch
21–19, 21–11   Winner
2023 Odisha Masters Super 100   Jessica Tan   Dhruv Kapila
  Tanisha Crasto
21–17, 19–21, 21–23   Runner-up

BWF International Challenge/Series (11 titles, 5 runners-up)

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Men's doubles

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result
2015 Vietnam International   Hendra Wijaya   Lu Ching-yao
  Tien Tzu-chieh
13–21, 21–14, 21–23   Runner-up
2015 Singapore International   Loh Kean Hean   Hardianto
  Kenas Adi Haryanto
13–21, 21–16, 21–19   Winner
2017 Nepal International   Danny Bawa Chrisnanta   Ian Wong Jien Sern
  Tan Chee Tean
22–20, 14–21, 21–16   Winner
2018 South Australia International   Danny Bawa Chrisnanta   Akira Koga
  Taichi Saito
11–21, 21–19, 16–21   Runner-up
2018 Sydney International   Danny Bawa Chrisnanta   Hiroki Okamura
  Masayuki Onodera
6–21, 11–21   Runner-up
2018 Singapore International   Danny Bawa Chrisnanta   Yonny Chung
  Tam Chun Hei
21–13, 18–21, 19–21   Runner-up
2021 Dutch Open   Loh Kean Hean   Tan Kian Meng
  Tan Wee Kiong
21–14, 18–21, 22–20   Winner
2021 Czech Open   Loh Kean Hean   Man Wei Chong
  Tee Kai Wun
13–21, 21–15, 21–15   Winner

Mixed doubles

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result
2014 Singapore International   Jessica Tan   Loh Kean Hean
  Dellis Yuliana
21–19, 19–21, 21–14   Winner
2014 Malaysia International   Jessica Tan   Hafiz Faizal
  Shella Devi Aulia
21–19, 19–21, 18–21   Runner-up
2015 Bangladesh International   Jessica Tan   Tan Wee Gieen
  Shevon Jemie Lai
21–10, 19–21, 21–12   Winner
2016 Smiling Fish International   Jessica Tan   Wong Fai Yin
  Shevon Jemie Lai
21–16, 21–17   Winner
2016 Hungarian International   Jessica Tan   Paweł Pietryja
  Aneta Wojtkowska
11–6, 11–7, 13–11   Winner
2018 South Australia International   Citra Putri Sari Dewi   Kohei Gondo
  Ayane Kurihara
22–20, 21–18   Winner
2021 Czech Open   Jessica Tan   Lev Barinov
  Anastasiia Boiarun
21–18, 21–12   Winner
2023 Irish Open   Jessica Tan   Gregory Mairs
  Jenny Mairs
21–17, 18–21, 21–15   Winner
  BWF International Challenge tournament
  BWF International Series tournament
  BWF Future Series tournament

References

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  1. ^ a b "所以他到底是来自马来西亚还是新加坡?", YouTube (in Chinese), retrieved 21 September 2022
  2. ^ a b Tan, Wei Han. "Terry Hee and Loh Kean Hean are gunning for a SEA Games medal, with Thomas Cup as a prelude!". circle.myactivesg.com.
  3. ^ a b "HEE Yong Kai Terry". BWF.
  4. ^ a b "Athlete Profile: Yong Kai Terry Hee". 2018 Commonwealth Games (official site).
  5. ^ "Players: Yong Kai Terry Hee". Badminton World Federation. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  6. ^ a b c d Lee, David (16 January 2022). "Badminton: S'pore's Terry Hee and Tan Wei Han upset odds to win India Open title". The Straits Times. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  7. ^ "ST Singaporean of the Year nominee: Hee and Tan sacrifice and soar as married mixed doubles duo". The Straits Times.
  8. ^ "Singapore's badminton mixed doubles pair Terry Hee and Jessica Tan get their spot in Paris Olympics". The Straits Times.
  9. ^ "Singapore sports star spotlight: Badminton's dynamic duo". Asiaone. 19 July 2022. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
  10. ^ "Badminton Academy - Major Games Representation". Singapore Sports School. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  11. ^ "Terry Hee Biography". Glasgow 2014. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  12. ^ "Hee Yong Kai Terry". Singapore Sports Council. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  13. ^ "Participants: Yong Kai Terry Hee". Gold Coast 2018. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  14. ^ a b Lee, David (3 April 2022). "Badminton: Terry Hee, Tan Wei Han win Orleans Masters mixed doubles final, 3rd title in 6 months". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 3 April 2022. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  15. ^ Chen, May (18 May 2022). "TeamSG shuttler Terry Hee: I'm bringing the same hunger to my next events in Hanoi!". ActiveSG. Archived from the original on 9 August 2022. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  16. ^ a b Chia, Laura (21 May 2022). "SEA Games: Badminton world champ Loh Kean Yew in singles final after tough fight". The New Paper. Archived from the original on 22 May 2022. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  17. ^ Kwek, Kimberly (2 August 2022). "Commonwealth Games: Singapore clinch bronze in badminton mixed team event". The Straits Times. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  18. ^ "England lose in badminton mixed team bronze match". BBC Sport. 2 August 2022. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  19. ^ a b "Terry Hee and Jessica Tan win Singapore's first Commonwealth Games badminton mixed doubles gold". CNA. 8 August 2022. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  20. ^ a b Lee, David (24 October 2021). "Badminton: Doubles joy for newly weds Terry Hee, Tan Wei Han at Czech Open". The Straits Times. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  21. ^ "Olympic-bound Terry Hee and Jessica Tan well-served by sponsorship deal with Singlife". The Straits Times.
  22. ^ "ST Athlete of the Year nominee: Jessica Tan and Terry Hee's letter to their younger selves". 2 April 2023.
  23. ^ "Feng Tianwei, Sheik Farhan win sportswoman and sportsman of the year awards for 2023". 24 August 2023.
  24. ^ Alleyne, Gayle (19 March 2017). "BWF Launches New Events Structure". Badminton World Federation. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  25. ^ Sukumar, Dev (10 January 2018). "Action-Packed Season Ahead!". Badminton World Federation. Archived from the original on 13 January 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
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