Mixed fortunes for Singapore’s badminton players as they begin Paris Olympics campaign
Yeo Jia Min enjoyed a winning start to her Olympic Games campaign, while the mixed doubles pair of Terry Hee and Jessica Tan suffered a debut defeat.
Singapore's Yeo Jia Min plays against Refugee Olympic Team's Dorsa Yavarivafa during their women's singles badminton group stage match at Porte de la Chapelle Arena during the Olympic Games in Paris, France on Jul 27, 2024. (Photo: AP/Dita Alangkara)
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PARIS: It was a tale of two matches for Singapore’s badminton players on Saturday (Jul 27) as world number 20 Yeo Jia Min cruised to victory, while the mixed doubles duo of Terry Hee and Jessica Tan fell to a defeat.
At the Porte de La Chapelle Arena, 13th seed Yeo dispatched Iran-born Dorsa Yavarivafa of the Refugee Olympic team 21-7, 21-8 in 22 minutes.
However, the husband-wife pair of Terry Hee and Jessica Tan lost to Malaysia’s Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei, ranked ninth in the world, 21-23, 12-21.
This was the second time the Singaporean pair had matched up against the Malaysian duo - they fell to a three-game defeat in March.
The pair were left rueing missed opportunities in the 41-minute encounter, in particular after saving four game points to lead 21-20.
"We started the game well and our strategy worked quite well," said Hee. "Unfortunately, we couldn't close the game after having a game point. That affected us quite a bit in the second set."
The atmosphere proved "a little overwhelming", explained Tan, who made her Olympic debut alongside Hee.
"It's really easy to say we are the underdogs and there's nothing to lose. But actually, there's everything to lose because in a group stage, every single match is important," she added.
Yeo’s victory means that a win against Kate Foo Kune of Mauritius in her next match will see her progress to the round of 16.
"My aim is to get a medal here, I'm sticking (to) that belief," she told reporters.
This is Yeo's second Olympics appearance - she was eliminated in the group stages in Tokyo three years ago.
"At the last Olympics, I was more nervous. This time, I tried to calm myself down more," she added. "There's a few things I can do better to be sharper for the next matches. "
With the top two pairs from the four mixed doubles groups moving on to the next round, Hee and Tan will now need to beat the Chinese world number 2 pair of Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping on Sunday to stand any chance of progressing.
"We will try to give them a hard time, and hopefully ... we will be more relaxed after going through the first match. And we will try to enjoy every match, and every point," said Hee.
Singapore’s former world champion Loh Kean Yew will begin his Games campaign on Sunday against Czech Republic’s Jan Louda.
Catch the widest coverage of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 on mewatch. Go to www.mewatch.sg/paris2024 for more details.
