SINGAPORE – The rigours of back-to-back competitions on the highest stage took its toll on nationwide shuttler Yeo Jia Min, who retired whereas trailing 21-7, 15-9 to Thai world No. 12 Busanan Ongbamrungphan of their Badminton World Federation World Tour Finals Group B match on Thursday (Dec 2).
It was clear the Singaporean world No. 17 was up in opposition to it from the opening body on the Bali Worldwide Conference Centre when she required therapy on her proper knee.
Regardless of making an attempt to combat on and taking a 3-0 lead within the second sport, the 22-year-old simply couldn’t sustain together with her 25-year-old opponent, and he or she determined to cease the match after 31 minutes.
This loss follows a 21-11, 21-14 defeat by Japan’s world No. 3 Akane Yamaguchi on Wednesday.
Yeo will even miss Friday’s match in opposition to South Korea’s world No. 6 An Se-young, which implies she won’t make the semi-finals, though she ought to hold the US$9,000 (S$12,280) for making the season-ender.
In an Instagram story, Yeo wrote: “Retired as a result of I didn’t need to make it worse earlier than World Championships. I am sorry to the followers.
“I’ll take care and strengthen the physique now and be again once more!”
Whereas it isn’t the World Tour Finals debut Yeo would have envisioned – she is the primary Singaporean to qualify for the US$1.5 million occasion which options the highest eight singles and doubles performers of the calendar yr – she was not the one participant to retire.
Within the males’s singles, Japan’s world No. 2 Kento Momota and Denmark’s world No. 10 Rasmus Gemke additionally withdrew on Wednesday, which imply Denmark’s top-ranked Viktor Axelsen and India’s Twenty first-ranked Lakshya Sen had a free cross from Group A into the semi-finals.
Because the world of sport re-opened throughout this Covid-19 period, the highest shuttlers had to deal with a packed BWF World Tour schedule that includes six tournaments because the Oct 19-24 Denmark Open.
On this interval, a number of gamers equivalent to Axelsen, Momota, Anders Antonsen, Lee Zii Jia, Ratchanok Intanon and Saina Nehwal have pulled out of a minimum of one occasion.
Following the World Tour Finals, the gamers may have one week off earlier than the Dec 12-19 World Championships in Spain.