Terry Yeo (left) and Yao Lei are the only Singaporeans left in the Li-Ning Singapore Open after they beat a higher-ranked Japanese pair to qualify for the second round. (Photo courtesy of Li-Ning Singapore Open 2013)
Singapore Indoor Stadium, Wednesday, June 19, 2013 — The mixed doubles pair of Terry Yeo and Yao Lei are the only Singaporeans left out of 28 in the 2013 Li-Ning Singapore Open after the opening round.
The Singapore pair, ranked 475, caused a minor upset when they beat the Japanese pair of Miyuki Maeda and Hirokatsu Hashimoto 2–0 (21–17, 22–20), who are currently ranked 64th.
Said Yao: “I feel that we played fairly well and gave our best. There was a lot of communication going on between my partner and I during the game, which helped our performance.”
Added Yeo: “I feel very happy. It’s the first time I’m making it to the second round of the Li-Ning Singapore Open. This tournament means a lot to me. I want to do well at home, so this is a good step. I think communication is the most important throughout the game.
“We gave one another encouragement even when we were down by a couple of points or a few bad shots and urged each other to try our best again for the next rally. I think that’s the key to our success today.”
Yao and Yeo will next meet Hong Kong’s Lee Chun Hei and Chau Hoi Wah in the next round. They will not be expecting an easy time against Lee and Chau after watching their opponents defeat Indonesia’s 7th seeded pairing of Fran Kurniawan and Shendy Puspa Irawati 2–0 (21–10, 21–16).
Earlier in the day, Yao and women’s doubles partner Vanessa Neo lost to Japanese opponents Kurumi Yonao and Naoko Fukuman 0–2 (21–23, 15–21).
Singapore’s mixed doubles pairings of Fu Mingtian and Terry Hee, Tan Zi Jian and Dellis Yuliana and Danny Bawa Chrisnanta and Vanessa Neo all crashed out of the tournament, losing to their opponents in straight sets.
The two Singapore women in the singles event, last year’s semi-finalist Xing Aiying and Gu Juan, also crashed out. Gu went down 14–21, 21–23 to tournament 2nd seed Saina Nehwal of India, while Xing was edged out 2–0 (21–19, 21–16) by Kaori Imabeppu of Japan.
Later in the evening, the Singapore women’s doubles pair of Yeo Jia Min and Elaine Chua lost 2–0 (22-20 21-11) to Koreans Jang Ye Na and Kim So Young.
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