Curson Cheng Yu Yang doesn’t play to impress. He plays to control the shuttle, the rhythm, and above all, himself. In the noise of a national final where every point was amplified by cheers, the 16-year-old Melaka shuttler stayed anchored in routine. “I just wanted to play the way I train,” he said, calm, deliberate, and unflinching.

At the 100PLUS National Interstate Under-12 and Under-16 Team Championships 2025, held at Stadium Titiwangsa in Kuala Lumpur, Curson delivered the point that sealed Melaka’s long-awaited title. His straight-sets victory over Joshua Karunagaran, 21-10, 21-8, came at the decisive moment of the final against Kedah, completing a 2-1 team win that lasted more than two hours. A year earlier, Melaka had walked away as losing finalists. This time, they closed the loop.

Curson remembered that loss vividly. At 15, he had fallen short in the Boys’ Under-16 Singles final, a result that stayed with him. “After losing the gold medal last year, I was really upset,” he said. “But I didn’t dwell on it for long. The next day, I went straight back to state training as usual. I set clear goals, and that made my training more structured throughout the year. The result proved my effort.”

In this year’s final, Melaka had been tested early. Syed Harraz Sayed Muzir fought through a 53-minute, three-set battle to win the first point. Kedah struck back through their doubles pair, levelling the tie 1-1. When Curson stepped onto court for the decider, the tension was palpable. But for him, pressure was not a burden. It was fuel. “Pressure is everywhere, but it has to be overcome,” he said. “Maybe it’s just my nature, but the more intense the atmosphere, the more excited I get to perform.”

That composure defines his game. This past year, Curson worked on more than just his strokes. He trained his responses, the ability to convert stress into focus. “I was very satisfied with my training this year, both mentally and physically,” he said. “Especially in terms of mindset. I learned to turn pressure onto my opponent instead of carrying it myself.” His father often takes him running at Tampin Stadium after training sessions, adding endurance to his foundation of consistency. It is a quiet routine that builds invisible strength.

The roots of that discipline trace back to his earliest days with a racket. “The biggest influence is definitely my father,” Curson said. “When I was ten, he took me to play badminton with adults in our village. That was when I fell in love with the sport.” His first coach, Goh Sir, also played a pivotal role in shaping his technical base and work ethic.

Within the Melaka team, chemistry runs deeper than matchday camaraderie. “We don’t just meet at the court,” Curson said. “Sometimes we hang out or eat together. That’s probably why our bond feels so natural.” It is that cohesion, built through trust rather than talk, that steadied Melaka in the final stretch.

When the last point landed, Curson didn’t celebrate loudly. His reaction was measured, almost reflective. “This victory gave me more confidence,” he said. “It was a well-deserved win for Melaka. My next goal is to make the national team and play on the international stage.”

For Curson, badminton isn’t about chasing highlight moments. It is about mastering variables. Every match is an exercise in balance: emotion against logic, ambition against patience. The more he plays, the less it feels like a reaction and more like design. Watching him compete is like watching someone solve an equation, quiet, methodical, and precise. And somewhere in that stillness, Melaka found their champion.