Stories

Jorelle Yak (24S06C) is no stranger to stressful situations. Walking into the interview room on the day of the A Level results collection, there was barely any sign of his nerves. “I think I wouldn’t want to worry too much, ” was what he said, a testament to the impact that many years of playing badminton had on his character. 

—

Coming from a badminton-loving family, Jorelle first picked up a racket when he was 4 and started training competitively at 7. With years and years of training under his belt, Jorelle was first moulded into a badminton singles’ player, playing at the 2023 and 2024 Badminton NSGs for RI. It was only in 2024 that he began the shift into doubles, representing Singapore at the ASEAN School Games and clinching a bronze.

Singles had always been a mind game. Training had always been an uphill battle, yet there were no visible results to his efforts. “The way I saw it was, if I couldn’t be the best, there was no point in [really] trying anymore.” He struggled with dealing with people’s expectations of him; as he climbed to the top, it got harder to beat others. The repetitive nature of drills made him feel like there wasn’t much hope for him to succeed. Coupled with the suffocating weight of the expectations from those around him, he felt that he was constantly letting everybody down. 

The spiral of his thoughts sent Jorelle into what he deemed to be the lowest point in his badminton journey, as he contemplated quitting the sport altogether. Yet rather than losing hope, Jorelle decided to take matters into his own hands, tackling this seemingly insurmountable challenge by coming from a completely different angle—making the switch from singles to doubles.

There was a noticeable smile on Jorelle’s face as he talked about his experience and transitioning to doubles—it was what reignited his passion for the game. It had given him a refreshing change from the role he’d been playing for years: the vibe was totally different, and Jorelle had never had a fixed doubles’ partner at RI, so training with one was a drastic change to what he had been used to. He had to learn to figure out and match his partner’s training style in order to develop the chemistry they needed on court. 

The new challenge of working together as a team was invigorating. Prior to this, Jorelle had never seen himself becoming a doubles’ player, and his win at the ASEAN School Games was what gave him the validation that he, perhaps, was good enough to be playing at the international level. Every day playing doubles was a new experience, as he felt himself improving throughout the 12 months training for doubles. 

Despite his newly reignited passion for badminton, the road still wasn’t easy. With training up to six times per week, the sheer intensity of his sport made managing his commitments incredibly rough. Between preparing for A Levels and badminton training, Jorelle often found himself drained of all his energy by the end of each day, and that meant having to make sacrifices.

Jorelle recounted how he used to fall asleep once he reached home from training, and lost precious time to watch the seemingly endless stream of lectures that just kept coming week after week. It also didn’t help that he was often so tired to the point of dozing off during tutorial lessons, falling even further behind on his schoolwork as it kept piling up. Yet Jorelle’s resilience shone through amidst how overwhelming everything was—he knew that it boiled down to how much he wanted to persevere through the struggle, and he just had to endure and get through it. 

In his studies, it was never about comparing himself to others; instead, he always focused on his own journey. Having a profoundly different profile from others as an athlete, Jorelle knew that the decision to prioritize badminton over most other activities was one that he himself had made, and he would have to make countless sacrifices in order to handle his sport amidst all his other commitments. Most significantly, his A Level preparations started much later than his peers, but Jorelle knew that what mattered most was how he could put his best foot forward to achieve the best result for himself. There was no point in him succumbing to peer pressure and letting his anxieties get the better of him.

Nonetheless, studying for the A Level examinations was nothing short of a balancing act, to say the least. Badminton was a huge part of his life, and so not only did Jorelle have to sacrifice his academics for badminton, but also badminton for academics. He admits that when the time came for him to set down his racquet and put a pause to the sport, he found the transition rather abrupt, as one would expect when switching from 6 training sessions a week to stopping his training entirely. Not to mention the unfamiliarity of the switch – he previously had had to forgo countless opportunities to spend time with his friends in class for badminton training – without badminton training, all the time on his hands made him reflect on the time lost with his friends. The transition was isolating. 

However, he once again recognised that this give-and-take was all part and parcel of being a student athlete: having to sacrifice one for the other during respective peak seasons, and whatever other challenges that came along the way. He also shared that the many other things on his mind in the months leading up to the A Levels did not give him much time to sit and stare forever, which helped to ease the transition by quite a great deal. 

And then it passed, as all things do. Just like that, months of catching up on the work he had missed, studying with his friends, and countless hours of revision were over. In retrospect, the past few months—and in fact the past two years—had passed by in the blink of an eye (over which Jorelle shares that he is still shocked, even after the ordeal). 

—

Having been through it all, it is still evident that Jorelle holds badminton close to his heart, and it has been crucial in shaping him into who he is today. As he shared some advice for his juniors, the maturity that he gained from his experience shone through.

To him, cherishing all the moments, both good and bad, were what made the difference in the journey. At every turn of the road, what was most important was to live life to the fullest. Everyone would make different decisions for their life, choosing to manage different activities or commit to more projects, but at the end of the day, what was most important was to be able to look back on one’s journey without regrets. 

And Jorelle had no regrets about the path he chose. Badminton had developed into a huge part of Jorelle’s life, and the lessons he learned in badminton like perseverance, honesty and humility were what had pushed him through his studies, and still continue to motivate him in life.

Currently, Jorelle is serving in NS, playing badminton on weekends when he’s free. When asked about what’s next for his badminton journey, Jorelle’s reply reflected the deep consideration he had already made on the topic. “There’s a lot of things I can’t decide on. I want to pursue it full-time, but it’s definitely dependent on whether or not I’m good enough to do so.” Beyond that, it was the stigma of not going to university and the “what’s next” after badminton that loomed over his head. 

Nevertheless, Jorelle believes that the two years of NS will provide him with time and space away from badminton to think about what role he wants the sport to play in his life. Though what is to come for him is uncertain, whatever it is, Jorelle is alright just trusting the process and letting the wind take him—hopefully, it will all turn out well.