{
  "id": 4626916,
  "title": "Youngster En Yu turns pastime into Olympic dream",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/31/youngster-en-yu-turns-pastime-into-olympic-dream",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-31T10:44:23.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "New Straits Times",
    "slug": "new-straits-times",
    "url": "https://www.nst.com.my/sports/badminton/2026/08/1522892/youngster-en-yu-turns-pastime-olympic-dream"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "KUALA LUMPUR: Lim En Yu, a six-year-old from Kedah, began playing badminton to stay active. Seven years later, she has secured national junior titles, reached international finals and aspires to represent Malaysia at the Olympics. At the Lee Chong Wei Cup in Kuala Lumpur, Lim En Yu defeated Vanessa Loke Tin Qing 15-8, 15-4 to advance to the Grand Finals. Initially, she only played for fun due to being \"a little chubby,\" but soon developed a passion for the sport, training more frequently. En Yu recalled her first competition loss, saying she \"cried\" then. Her early setbacks have been replaced by a series of positive results. Last year, she won several Under-12 Junior Elite Tour titles and reached the singles final of the Philippines Junior International Series, while also becoming the mixed doubles semi-finalist. She credited her early development to Tan Seng Hoe, father of national women's doubles star Pearly Tan, who initially coached her virtually. Although she excels in singles, En Yu prefers doubles, though her coach wants her to focus on singles first. She will team up with Perak's Loh Hui Yee in the girls doubles at the LCW Cup. En Yu discovered her idol, Datuk Seri Lee Chong Wei, through television replays after his retirement, admiring his deceptive shot-making. Her current women's singles idol is South Korea's An Se Young, praised for her stamina. En Yu's long-term goal is to compete at the Olympics. The tournament featured patriotic songs and players marching to Merdeka-themed music on its third day. Meanwhile, Nur Izz Danish Rosni Zamuddin Shah from Sabah secured a spot in the boys' Under-17 Grand Finals after defeating Lim Hong Rui 15-8, 18-16. The 16-year-old, now living in Selangor to pursue badminton, trains at Rommy Badminton Club and wakes up at 4.30 AM daily for training. He aspires to play at an international level and join the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM).",
  "summary": "KUALA LUMPUR: Lim En Yu first picked up a badminton racquet at the age of six simply to stay active.",
  "key_points": [
    "Six-year-old Lim En Yu started playing badminton to stay active.",
    "She won national junior titles and reached international finals.",
    "Lim En Yu aims to represent Malaysia at the Olympics."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}