Singapore shuttler Yeo Jia Min stuns world No. 1 Akane Yamaguchi
Singapore’s Yeo Jia Min claimed the biggest scalp of her career by stunning world No. 1 Akane Yamaguchi 21-14, 21-18 at the BWF World Championships on Tuesday night (Aug 20).
Yeo, who is ranked world No. 32, went for the jugular right from the start and raced to an 11-5 lead just five minutes into the first game.
Moving her 22-year-old Japanese opponent all over the court with her array of shots, Yeo, 20, sealed her place in the Round of 16 of the women's singles in just 39 minutes.
She will next meet Vietnam's Vu Thi Trang.
Said Yeo: "Today, I did my best to focus on every point from the start, to be patient but ready for chance to attack.
"(Yamaguchi) started attacking a bit more in the second game , so I was more ready to defend and to rally with her."
National singles head coach Mulyo Handoyo praised Yeo's fighting spirit, saying: "Jia Min showed consistency with good-quality shots. Her fighting spirit was high, playing against the top seed."
Earlier yesterday, men's singles representative Loh Kean Yew also kept the Singapore flag flying high when he defeated India's world No. 14 Sameer Verma 15-21, 21-15, 21-10 to book his place in the men's singles' Round of 32.
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