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EXCLUSIVE: Chen Tang Jie's Struggles & Journey

Aug 30, 2024

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Struggles Of An Athlete: 

In an exclusive interview with Astro Radio News, national badminton player Chen Tang Jie sits down with us and gets candid about his struggles of being an athlete.  

The Olympian says the hardest part of being an athlete is waking up at 6AM daily to train, and the little time off he does get.  

During this sweet reprieve, he tends to stay at home and spend time with his family and dogs.  

With three dogs, Kitty (yes, a dog named Kitty), Brownie, and Win, it's safe to say Tang Jie is a dog lover. 

However, his heart has been yearning for a cat lately after watching numerous cat videos online (he's just like us).  

But he doesn't see that happening at the current moment, due to his busy schedule and the fact that his hostel doesn't allow pets.  

Tang Jie also finds comfort in his manager, whom he often talks to when he needs to unwind from all the stress. 

He adds that the attention is always on him and his partner, Toh Ee Wei, when they win, or lose, but he needs to give credit to his support staff and coaches.  

The badminton player explained that they're the ones that make everything happen behind the scenes.  

His team was especially helpful during the 2024 Paris Olympics.  

The Olympian admitted that it was hard facing their early exit from the Games in the quarterfinals, especially with all the negative comments and hate.  

In fact, Tang Jie says he finds it difficult to deal with hateful energy, so he deletes all his social media apps during tournament time.  

However, he assured that he sees all the positive feedback too, and the support from his fans motivate him to do even better. 

When asked what's the one thing he would say to his haters, Tang Jie said he understands where they're coming from.  

Perhaps their message got lost in translation due to emotion, but the badminton player knows they just want him to play better.  

 

Tang Jie's Journey So Far: 

As we chatted, the 26-year-old gave us a glimpse into his life, and the journey that's taken him so far.  

But let's go back to where it all began.  

Born in Perak but raised in Negeri Sembilan, Tang Jie actually learned badminton from his uncles. 

His parents didn't know how to play the sport, so his uncles brought him to the community hall often to play.  

At the time, Tang Jie didn't know how much badminton would grow on him, but he knew that he liked one thing: sweating.  

Till now, his uncles are still supportive of his career and always cheer him on.  

Meanwhile, when the Olympian isn't playing badminton, he can be found watching anime to de-stress.  

Cult classic One Piece is his favorite, since it's the first anime he watched as a teenager.  

But Tang Jie also likes Naruto, and Demon Slayer.  

On a separate matter, the mixed doubles shuttler admitted that he's sacrificed a lot for his career.  

But perhaps the biggest sacrifice he made was giving up the opportunity to learn.  

He says when he was younger, he didn't realize how important knowledge was and if given the chance to go back in time, he would want to spend it studying.  

Putting it into a picture for us, Tang Jie explained that he knows nothing else other than badminton, and he's not sure what he can do after he retires.  

Despite this, he has no regrets about the path he chose.  

Sure, he's still unsure what he can achieve in the sport, but he's confident he's already given his best.  

But Tang Jie still thinks he has more to give, because the unique thing about sports is that records can always be broken over and over again.  

Since the sky's the limit, he aims to learn more from his compatriots, especially men's doubles duo Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik.  

He explained that he admires the two, who're able to handle the pressure of the Olympics, which only happens every four years, very well.  

In fact, the duo managed to nab bronze medals in two editions.  

Nonetheless, Tang Jie isn't too hung up over his early exit from the Games.  

He says although he didn't bring home a medal, it was still a good experience that he'll use as motivation to qualify for the 2028 LA edition.  

Finally, when taking a look back at his career so far, Tang Jie says there's just one thing he would tell his younger self: 

"Life is a journey, and you must walk your own path. "