Yeo Jia Min wins German Open, her first Badminton World Federation title since 2019
Singapore badminton star Yeo Jia Min has finally won her first Badminton World Federation (BWF) title in more than five years, triumphing in the German Open.
Source: Badmintonphoto via I Love Badminton – Singapore Badminton Association on Facebook
Meanwhile, Loh Kean Yew settled for runner-up in the same competition, failing to beat his close friend Viktor Axelsen in the men’s final.
Yeo Jia Min defeats opponent in 2 sets at German Open final
Yeo, 26, was playing in the women’s singles final at the Westenergie Sporthalle in Mulheim, Germany on Sunday (2 March).
She ended up trouncing her opponent, Vietnam’s Nguyen Thuy Linh, in two sets of 21-16 and 21-17, the Singapore Badminton Association (SBA) said in a Facebook post.
Source: BWF TV on YouTube
While Yeo led all the way in the first set, the Vietnamese managed to take the lead in the second set before being overtaken again.
German Open is 1st Super 300 title for Yeo Jia Min
Yeo’s German Open title is her third on the BWF World Tour, but her first Super 300 title.
Her last BWF title was won at the Super 100 Hyderabad Open in August 2019.
It’s also her fifth international title of her career, said SBA.
Source: Badmintonphoto via I Love Badminton – Singapore Badminton Association on Facebook
Mr Edwin Tong, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, congratulated her in a Facebook post, calling it “the biggest title of her career”.
Win is all the sweeter due to past setbacks
Yeo was quoted as saying by SBA that the title meant a lot to her, adding:
I’ve gone through so many losses and setbacks that this victory becomes even sweeter.
Source: Badmintonphoto via I Love Badminton – Singapore Badminton Association on Facebook
Some of her most heartbreaking defeats were in the 2021 Hylo Open final — her last BWF World Tour final before this — and the 2024 Paris Olympics round of 16.
Loh tastes defeat against Axelsen in final
Meanwhile in the men’s final on the same day, Loh battled Denmark’s Axelsen but ultimately couldn’t prevail.
He fell 19-21 and 18-21 in two sets over 54 minutes.
Source: BWF TV on YouTube
But the Singaporean put up a good fight, leading twice in the first set before Axelsen stormed back to take the set.
Source: Badmintonphoto via I Love Badminton – Singapore Badminton Association on Facebook
In the see-saw second set, Axelsen took a huge lead but Loh clawed it back. The Dane then regained the large advantage but was pegged back by Loh again.
After Loh narrowed the disparity to two points, Axelsen finally won the title-winning point.
Source: Badmintonphoto via I Love Badminton – Singapore Badminton Association on Facebook
Loh ‘impressed’ with ‘strong run’
For Loh, this was his first final in nearly a year since he won the Madrid Spain Masters in March 2024.
He has not defeated Axelsen since the Denmark Open in 2022, while the two-time Olympic champion and world no. 4 recently won the India Open in January.
Despite the loss, Mr Tong said Loh “impressed us with a strong run” to the final, putting up a “spirited fight” before finishing as runner-up and concluding a “promising campaign”.
Source: Badmintonphoto via I Love Badminton – Singapore Badminton Association on Facebook
A sweet victory for SG60
SBA President Lawrence Leow said it was “a cause for celebration” to have two Singaporeans contesting both singles finals at a BWF Super 300 tournament.
The feat “couldn’t come at a better time” as we celebrate SG60 this year, he added, noting:
Jia Min’s victory today only made it sweeter.
Also read: Badminton star Yeo Jia Min becomes first S’porean to progress to Olympics knockout stages since 2012
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Featured image adapted from Badmintonphoto via I Love Badminton – Singapore Badminton Association on Facebook and Facebook.
