Olympics: Singapore shuttler Yeo Jia Min off to a winning start

Jul 27, 2021 03:23 pm

Singapore shuttler Yeo Jia Min got off to a winning start in her Tokyo 2020 campaign by defeating Mexico's Gaitan Haramara 21-7, 21-10 in a Group K match at the Musashino Forest Plaza on Tuesday (July 27).

Making her Olympic debut, world No. 30 Yeo was in control against her 92nd-ranked opponent and secured her win in 25 minutes.

She will face South Korea's 18th-ranked Kim Gae-un in the final Group K match on Wednesday for a place in the round of 16 of the women's singles.

Yeo, 22, holds a 3-1 head-to-head record over the 23-year-old Kim. In their last encounter at the 2019 Australian Open, the Singaporean won 22-20, 9-21, 21-16.

It was also in 2019 that Yeo rose to prominence at the Badminton World Federation World Championships in Switzerland, where she became the first Singaporean to reach the women’s singles quarter-finals.

On Wednesday, another Singapore shuttler, Loh Kean Yew, will also be attempting to reach the round of 16. He faces Asian Games champion Jonatan Christie in the final Group G match of the men's singles.