Singapore’s badminton team clinched the first medal of the 2025 SEA Games, taking bronze in the women’s team event after a 3-0 loss to hosts Thailand in the semi-finals on Monday morning (Dec 8).
“I’m grateful we secured another bronze and had the chance to represent Singapore on such a big stage. Of course, we wanted to go further, but this is where our team event ends. All of us fought really hard alongside our coaches, SBA staff, TeamSG staff, physios, and medical team to make this happen,” Insyirah Khan, who played the first singles leg said.
Against a superior Thai side that had a bye to the semi-final stage, world no. 146 Insyirah was not overawed by her sixth-ranked opponent, Pornpawee Chochuwong, taking the game to her on occasion.
“Going into the game, I knew she was on a different level in terms of ranking, ability, strength, and experience. But that didn’t discourage me. I believed in the training and preparation we put in before the Games, and opportunities to play a top 10 player don’t come often.
“My mindset going nto the game was to run for every shot, go for every point, even if I had to dive, I would. I had nothing to lose, and the pressure was on them.”
Insyirah went as close as 11-12 in the first game but could not fashion a lead throughout. The Thai then pulled away with eight unanswered points and closed out the opener on her fourth game point.
An early 3–0 advantage in the second game offered a glimmer of hope for Insyirah. However, the women’s singles gold medallist from the 2021 edition responded with a dominant 8–1 run and went into the interval 11-6 up.
Insyirah fought back valiantly, pulling the score to 13–13 and then 15–15, but the match ultimately slipped away as the home favourite sealed the second game 20–15, giving her side the early advantage.
Playing in her fifth SEA Games, Insyirah felt that she has grown from her past experiences.
“As I got older, my speed, consistency, accuracy, and on-court adaptation have improved a lot. That made a huge difference today. Being able to level the score and even lead at certain points showed me that I can match the speed and endurance of top players, and that’s something I’ll take away from this match.”
The hosts then produced a strong performance in the doubles, as Benyapa Aimsaard and Supissara Paewsampran comfortably defeated Jin Yu Jia and Li Zheng Yan 21–6, 21–10.
Former world no.1 Ratchanok Intanon finished off the encounter with a 21-8, 21-10 win over Megan Lee.
But it wasn’t for nought as Lee was able to apply some of the things she learnt in training during the match against the former world champion.
“It was a very good experience for me to be able to play against Ratchanok, and I enjoyed the match as well. I was able to learn a lot from playing against her. I think that I played to the best I could today, despite mostly getting controlled by Ratchanok’s shots and pace.”
“Despite still lacking in some areas, I now know what I need to continue working on and improve further.”
The men’s team also took bronze after a 3-1 loss to Indonesia on Monday afternoon.
