Paris Olympics: Yeo Jia Min suffers agonising badminton last-16 exit

PARIS – She lifted her collar over her face and sobbed at the mixed zone.

Just moments ago, Singapore badminton player Yeo Jia Min was involved in a heart-stopping and heart-wrenching 11-21, 21-14, 24-22 defeat by Japan’s world No. 10 Aya Ohori.

In the delicately poised Paris 2024 Olympics women’s singles round-of-16 match, Yeo took her opponent, whom she had never taken a game off in three previous attempts, to a dramatic decider.

After 55 minutes of fascinating rallies and unforced errors, it all came down to a 26-stroke rally that ended when she hit wide as both players simultaneously collapsed on the Porte de la Chapelle Arena floor.

Three years of preparation, thousands of hours of training and scenario simulation, and it all came down to who could hold her nerve better.

Something had to give, someone had to break down, and it was Yeo.

The 25-year-old had come back from 0-3 and 13-15 down in the decider to earn a matchpoint.

But she couldn’t convert and Ohori didn’t give her another chance, even if the 27-year-old required three match points of her own to win the match and a quarter-final against Spain’s world No. 4 and Rio 2016 champion Carolina Marin.

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Defeat of any sort is a bitter pill to swallow but the narrow ones usually hurt more. Remarkably, the women’s singles match and mixed doubles semi-final on the adjacent courts also went the distance, drawing gasps and appreciative applause from the capacity crowd.

“I’m very disappointed and sad that I couldn’t claim the win for Singapore today. I wanted it too much, and I couldn’t control my emotions and stay calm at the end,” said Yeo, whose first Olympics ended with a group-stage exit at Tokyo 2020.

This time, she felt a medal was within reach.

She said: “I always go out on court believing I can win. This time, I was in better shape and my injuries were not holding me back. I was able to move normally, so I knew I had a chance to win.”

After the tears, there was a quiet defiance, as she softly said: “If all things go smoothly, I’ll go for another one.”

Despite the elimination, national singles coach Kelvin Lim felt that Yeo has made strides in the last few years.

He said: “In terms of style of play, strategy, pace and variation, she did all we asked of her at these Olympics. Jia Min has definitely matured but she can still improve on handling tense situations better.”

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Ohori also paid tribute to Yeo for pushing her to her limits and shared that a glance at her father in the stands did the trick.

She said: “I wanted to win so badly I thought only about the win and not about how to play each point. I went stiff and felt like I couldn’t even hold my racket. I saw my father at the start of the second game. He came near our court and told me to just play as I always do. That helped me a lot.”

In the other women’s singles quarter-finals, South Korea’s world No. 1 and world champion An Se-young will play Japan’s sixth-ranked Akane Yamaguchi, defending champion and world No. 2 Chen Yufei will meet ninth-ranked He Bingjiao in an all-china match-up, while Indonesia’s world No. 8 Gregoria Tunjung will facThailand’s 21st-ranked Ratchanok Intanon.

In the men’s singles round of 16, compatriot Loh Kean Yew’s dream of delivering Singapore’s first Olympic badminton medal burns on after the world No. 12 beat China’s sixth-ranked Li Shifeng 23-21, 21-15.

The victory sets up a tantalising last-eight clash on Aug 2 against his good friend, defending champion and world No. 2 Viktor Axelsen, who received a last 16 bye.

The other quarter-finals will see Thailand’s world champion and eighth-ranked Kunlavut Vitidsarn facing China’s world No. 1 Shi Yuqi, Malaysia’s seventh-ranked Lee Zii Jia taking on Denmark’s world No. 3 Anders Antonsen, and Taiwanese world No. 11 Chou Tien-chen playing India’s 22nd-ranked Lakshya Sen.

The mixed doubles final will also be played on Aug 2, as China’s world No. 1 Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong take on South Korea’s eighth ranked Kim Won-ho and Jeong Na-eun..

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.