KUALA LUMPUR: Singaporean women’s singles shuttler Yeo Jia Min (pic) is not as well known as her teammate Loh Kean Yew but is happy to continue her rise under the radar.
Kean Yew created history in the men’s singles in 2021 when he became the first Singaporean to lift the world title.
While Jia Min has not quite grabbed the headlines like Kean Yew, she has quietly progressed well and reached a career-high No. 12 in the world rankings recently.
The 25-year-old proved her potential as a world beater when she toppled the likes of Japan’s world No. 3 Akane Yamaguchi, China’s world No. 5 Han Yue, Indonesia’s Gregoria Mariska (No. 6) and India’s 2019 world champion P.V. Sindhu last year.
Jia Min also made it into the semi-finals in the World Tour Super 750 Indian Open in 2024.
In the Paris Olympics last August, Jia Min, who was making her debut, went down fighting in three close games to Japan’s Aya Ohori in the round of 16.
Jia Min is next setting her sights on breaking into the world’s top 10.
“Moving into the top 10 is one of my goals this year. Ultimately, I’m working on becoming a better player,” said Jia Min.
“Every opportunity to play in the World Tour is a blessing and to be able to be physically fit and representing a country is an honour.
“I’m taking more responsibility as an athlete. After every match, I will work on where I went wrong and try to improve on my weaknesses.
“After the Olympics, I have more motivation to become a better player and I told myself I needed to become mentally stronger as well,” added Jia Min.
In the ongoing Malaysian Open, Jia Min reached the last eight before losing narrowly to China’s world No. 2 Wang Zhiyi 20-22, 16-21 at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil yesterday.
