Syahmi Irfan has no regrets leaving badminton to pursue a career as a singer

Syahmi Irfan hopes to become a good singer but is still pursuing his studies in sports. Photo: Syahmi Irfan/Instagram

Syahmi Irfan had shown a lot of potential as a badminton player growing up; he even represented Malaysia for Under 17 badminton tournaments. So, it came as a surprise when Syahmi made the decision to leave the Malaysian Junior Badminton team in 2020 to build a career as a singer.

He revealed to mStar, The Star's Malay-language portal, that he made this decision not just because he always had an interest in singing but also because he felt his performance in the sport was declining.

"I quit badminton not only because I wanted to sing but at the same time my achievements were not very good," he said.

The artiste added: "After all, I found the journey (in badminton) to be quite difficult. So, I decided to try my luck in the music industry." Syahmi indeed had a tough time with badminton after being left out of the national badminton squad in 2019 due to a waist injury that affected his performance.

The 20-year-old said: "I don't regret (leaving badminton) because I'm really interested in singing and hope to become a good singer."

He has since released his single Mungkir which was featured in the TV drama series Perempuan Tanpa Dosa in 2020 and competed in the second season of TV3's Lagu Cinta Kita which concluded in January.

It is interesting to note that Syahmi is still pursuing his studies in sports in Universiti Teknologi Mara Shah Alam.

"People thought I would major in music but I chose sports. When I finished school, there was the feeling of wanting to major in music but since I was from a sports school, I had learned a lot about sports," he explained, adding that the knowledge he had would go to waste if he did not further his studies in the subject.