Singapore's campaign at the 2016 BWF Junior World Championship badminton came to an end after Ryan Ng and Yeo Jia Min's suffered loses on Friday at the Bilbao Arena.
Jia Min faced a stiff clash in the quarter-final of Girls singles against third seed Pornpawee Chochuwong. Nothing went the Singaporean's way as the Thailand shuttler took only 33 minutes to take the match 21-11, 21-11.
After her title-winning campaign at Jaya Raya Yonex Sunrise Junior Grand Prix in Jakarta, in which Jia Min outclassed Pornpawee enroute to the final, a lot was expected of the 17-year-old in the quarter-final. However, she gave away 8 points before getting off the mark in the first game and never recovered from the set back.
The sixth seed conceded she made crucial mistakes during her two-game quarter-final. She also added that an injury she suffered during the Team event, in which Singapore finished 10th, had its impact during her singles campaign.
Also, Jia Min reportedly let go of an opportunity to become the only second shuttler from Singapore to reach the semi-final of the tournament after Gu Juan in 2007.
"I failed to compose myself and made many mistakes I shouldn't have. I'm very disappointed with my performance today but I'll learn and improve myself from this experience," Jia Min was quoted as saying by Channel News Asia.
"I can't help but feel that my physical condition and agility were affected after I sprained my ankle during the team event."
In the absence of Malaysia's top seed Goh Jin Wei, who was outclassed by unseeded Japanese shuttler Natsuki Oei, Pornpawee is now favourites to set up a final clash with China's Chen Yufei on Sunday.
In the Boy's singles, Ng was involved in a closely-fought battle with Indonesia's Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo. However, the eighth-seeded Singapore shuttler was not able to prevail as he lost the quarter-final clash 21-18, 21-14.
Despite the loss, Ng said he was happy with the top-eight finish and that he would continue working hard to do his country proud in future.
"This competition has helped me grow a lot as a player as I've been able to identify several weaknesses I can work on improving," Ng said.
"And this top 8 result definitely encourages me. I could have done better and will continue training even harder to do Singapore proud."
