Stories

Nicholas, Nigel and Nixon are three siblings from RI who bond over their mutual passion for a sport – badminton. Also known as the “Yap Brothers”, Nicholas and Nigel are alumni while Nixon (23S06G) is a current student in our school. Nigel was also named the ‘Best Sportsboy’ for badminton, awarded by the Singapore Schools Sports Council in 2019. They share with us about their journey in badminton together. 


[From left to right] Nicholas, Nigel and Nixon Yap are three siblings who share a mutual passion for badminton. 

1. What inspired three of you to take up badminton? 
 
Badminton has always been a hobby for us, and till today we play it often with our friends.
When we were young, we would accompany our parents to Tampines Sports Hall, where they played badminton together. They put two of us – Nicholas and Nigel – to train with one of the coaches there while they played with their friends. That was how we picked up our first racquets. 
We played in our Primary School teams, and Nixon followed suit a few years after. 
 
2. How often do you train together, be it in school or outside of school? 
 
In Primary School, all of us trained roughly 3-4 times a week in school. This was supplemented with training outside. 
In Secondary School, we – Nigel and Nixon – were part of the National Intermediate Squad (NIS) and would train every day. 
Nigel was trained and influenced by Nicholas when he was young, and in turn he trained with and influenced Nixon when he was older. 
During school holidays, we actively participated in local competitions. Occasionally, our mum would bring us to participate in competitions in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand. Our holidays would be fully occupied with competitions and training. 
 
3. Do you enjoy badminton as a sport? 
 
Definitely! Throughout our journey in badminton, we have always been passionate about the sport. Of course, there are inevitable ups and downs, but overall we enjoy the sport greatly. 
 
4. Has playing in a mutual sport together facilitated bonding and good relationship?
 
Playing a mutual sport definitely helps with family bonding, and the three of us often discuss our favourite players and watch badminton matches together. 
On and off the court, we also discuss aspects of the game with one another and share advice on how to improve. 
 
5. Thank you for sharing about your badminton journey with us. Do you have any last words?
 
Our family is very grateful to RI’s teachers and coaches for nurturing the three of us into adulthood and providing us with the facilities to train and play badminton. We are also thankful that we were given space to train and time to catch up on schoolwork, especially when Nigel was participating in overseas competitions quite often. 
We would like to end off with a lesson we learned throughout our journey: “Preparation and perseverance are key to achievement”.