Badminton: Yeo Jia Min cruises to comfortable win on Olympic debut

TOKYO — Singapore badminton player Yeo Jia Min got her Olympic debut off to a winning start as she beat Mexico’s Haramara Gaitan 21-7, 21-10 in the women’s singles on Tuesday (July 27).

At the Musashino Forest Sport Plaza, the 22-year-old was cool, calm and composed as she faced an opponent that she had never come up against.

Yeo, who is ranked 30th in the world, got off to a strong start against the 92nd-ranked Gaitan, and led 11-4 at the interval. She then wrapped up the set in 12 minutes.

The Singaporean took that momentum into the next game, leading 11-4 at the interval, before clinching victory.

Gaitan had already played one match in the competition, going down 14-21, 9-21 to South Korea’s Kim Ga-eun.

Yeo will next face Kim on Wednesday. The Singaporean will progress to the next round should she beat the South Korean who is 18th in the world. 

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