Yeo Jia Min gains breakthrough with India Open q-final win over injured world No. 1 An Se-young

SINGAPORE – High on confidence, Yeo Jia Min is not resting on her laurels, after clinching her first Badminton World Federation World Tour Super 750 semi-final appearance at the India Open on Jan 19.

Singapore’s top women’s singles player made the step up, after South Korea’s world No. 1 An Se-young retired while trailing 19-21, 0-3 in their quarter-final clash at the K. D. Jadhav Indoor Hall in New Delhi.

Super 750 competitions are the third tier of the Badminton World Federation World Tour, behind the World Tour Finals and Super 1000 events.

Yeo will take on world No. 3 Tai Tzu-ying on Jan 20 with an eye on a first victory in their fifth encounter. The Taiwanese eliminated China’s He Bingjiao 21-12, 21-12. The other semi-final will be an all-Chinese affair between world No. 2 Chen Yufei and Wang Zhiyi.

The Singaporean world No. 20 told The Straits Times: “I’m excited to see how much I can challenge Tai Tzu-ying tomorrow, and I’m definitely aiming to win.”

On the victory over An, the 24-year-old said: “I’m grateful for every match experience with top players that is helping me improve. I’m happy to have made the right choices during important moments today.

“I knew I had to play fast and make as few mistakes as possible, and I’m glad I did that and won today. However, it is a pity to know An Se-young is not in her best physical condition and I hope she will recover soon.”

An, who held a superior 7-1 head-to-head record over Yeo that included a quarter-final victory en route to winning the Malaysia Open last week, has been nursing a right-knee injury since she won the Asian Games gold in October.

The 21-year-old said: “I knew the injury could get worse, but I wanted to play more matches ahead of the Olympics.”

But Yeo deserved credit for playing an outstanding match.

After both players settled down, it was the Singaporean who led 15-10 and then 17-13, keeping her opponent at bay with her angled and deceptive shots.

An then showed the prowess behind the 10 titles she won in 2023 and the Malaysia Open triumph, as she threatened to turn the tide with her aggressive play.

The South Korean drew level at 18-18 with a diving return that landed on the line and took the lead when a deflated Yeo played a drop shot into the net in the next point.

But after a medical timeout to treat her scrapped knuckles, the Singaporean took the opener, as An’s movement appeared to be hampered.

Yeo would continue to stretch her beleaguered rival as she described: “I felt I was moving a little faster than her, so I tried to vary my shots to make her uncomfortable.”

The ability to outwit the top player speaks volumes of the turnaround she has made since starting 2023 with five straight losses and slipping to 37th in the world, before her gradual improvement.

National singles coach Kelvin Ho said: “The shuttle speed and drift here are slow, so the more consistent players have an advantage, and Jia Min has been consistent in general.

“Her shot variation and speed have been good and she didn’t make it easy to anticipate her shots as she kept creating difficult moments for her opponents.

“Every opponent at this level is strong and she needs to continue her focus and positive approach to go through the processes well to develop further.”

In the men’s singles last four, Hong Kong’s Lee Cheuk Yiu plays Japanese second seed Kodai Naraoka while India’s H.S. Prannoy meets China’s Shi Yuqi.