Yeo targets top-l O spot after maiden win over Sindhu

As far as giants go, they do not come taller in the badminton women's singles circuit than India's 1.79m P. V. Sindhu, who has a 2019 world title and an Olympic silver (Rio 2016) and bronze (Tokyo 2020) to match her stature.

For five years since their first encounter in 2019, Sindhu has towered over Singapore's Yeo Iia Min in their head-to-head record, earning four wins without conceding a game.

That all changed on Nov 21, when world No. 13 Yeo put aside her 16cm height deficit and produced consistently high-quality badminton to break the hoodoo. She won 21-16, 1721, 23-21 after a 69-minute match in the US$1.15 million (S$1.55 million) China Masters round of 16 at the Shenzhen Arena.

Showing how much the victory meant to her, Yeo screamed and slumped to the ground clenching her fists as she progressed to the Nov 22 quarter-finals, where she will meet Thailand's world No. 10 Supanida Katethong.

"I'm happy to have another breakthrough for myself. Sindhu is tall and has a good smash, so I have to be wise with my shots to restrict her as much as I can, while I attack as well," said the 25-year-old Singaporean, who had beaten Hong Kong's Happy Lo 21-7, 21-18 in the first round on Nov 20.