PETALING JAYA: Badminton has been a big part of Tee Kai Wun’s (pic) life for as long as he can remember, and the sport has also given the men’s doubles shuttler a chance to build a better life for his family.

The Melaka-born player admits he has never really thought about what he would be doing today had badminton not become such an important part of his life.

As the only son in the family, Kai Wun could have followed in the footsteps of his father, Tee Tong Aik, who runs a motorcycle workshop in Jasin.

Instead, his father gave him his full support to chase his dream of becoming a badminton player.

“I never really thought about what I would be doing today if I didn’t play badminton.

“I wasn’t very good at studying, so maybe I would be selling durians,” said Kai Wun with a laugh.

“My father is a mechanic, but he also played badminton and he was the one who introduced me to the sport.

“Maybe he wanted me to play badminton, and I’m also the only son in the family.”

The road to becoming a national player, however, was not an easy one.

Growing up in Jasin, Kai Wun had to travel regularly to Melaka Tengah to train under a coach who had spotted his potential.

“When I was young, I lived in the village and there was a coach who wanted to train me, but his training place was quite far away in Melaka Tengah while I was staying in Jasin.

“But the coach did not charge me anything,” said Kai Wun.

His efforts paid off when he earned a place at the Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) at 15.

Kai Wun later spent some time outside the national set-up before returning to the Badminton Academy of Malaysia (ABM) at 19, and he has since gone on to enjoy success on the international stage.

Together with Man Wei Chong, Kai Wun has won five BWF World Tour titles, while the pair reached a career-high world No. 4 last December.

For Kai Wun, those achievements mean even more because of what his father went through to support him in the early years.

“I’m happy with how my journey has gone because things were difficult for my father back then, but he always supported me.

“When I was growing up, Datuk Seri Lee Chong Wei was the most successful player and had achieved so much.

“Maybe my father saw badminton as an opportunity for me to make a name for myself and bring pride to the family,” he added.

However, Kai Wun will have a different partner at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, which begin on Saturday.

The Games debutant will team up with Aaron Chia instead of his regular partner Man Wei Chong.

It will not be the first time Kai Wun and Aaron have played together, having previously partnered each other at the 2018 Malaysia Games (Sukma) in Perak and again at the Thomas Cup Finals in Horsens last April.