SINGAPORE - National shuttler Yeo Jia Min got off to a rough start in her Badminton World Federation World Tour Finals debut when she was beaten 21-11, 21-14 by Japan's world No. 3 Akane Yamaguchi in 34 minutes on Wednesday (Dec 1).

In their women's singles Group B opener at the Bali International Convention Centre, the Japanese displayed more precise shuttle control from the beginning, and never eased up against her 17th-ranked opponent to extend her head-to-head record against the Singaporean to 4-1.

In the other Group B match, South Korea's world No. 6 An Se-young similarly eased to a 21-16, 21-5 win over Thailand's world No. 12 Busanan Ongbamrungphan.

Regardless of the result, Yeo has already created history by becoming the first Singaporean to qualify for the US$1.5 million (S$2.05 million) World Tour Finals which features the top eight singles and doubles performers of the calendar year.

The 22-year-old will play two more round-robin matches against An and Busanan before the top two in each group advance to the semi-finals of the Dec 1-5 event. She is assured of at least US$9,000 in prize money and 4,800 ranking points.

Group A comprises comprises India's world No. 7 P. V. Sindhu, Thailand's Pornpawee Chochuwong (10th), Germany's Yvonne Li (24th) and Denmark's Line Christophersen (27th).