Singapore shuttler Loh Kean Yew was on the cusp of toppling world No. 22 Rajiv Ouseph in the Commonwealth Games mixed team's bronze play-off three days ago, but nerves got to him and the match eventually went to the Englishman.
But Loh, who is ranked world No. 227, was quick to learn from the disappointment and kept a composed figure as he edged out Scotland's Kieran Merrilees, the seventh seed of the men's singles event yesterday.
Displaying swift footwork and powerful smashes, Loh triumphed 21-12, 18-21, 21-18 against the world No. 102 in their Round of 32 clash.
Loh, 20, told The New Paper in a phone interview:"I feel like I played well today. I managed to learn from my mistakes from my previous few matches by maintaining my composure and not rushing for the kill when I had the match-point."
He will meet Canada's Brian Yang in the Round of 16 today. The 16-year-old is ranked world No. 257.
The Republic's women's doubles duo Crystal Wong, 18, and Ong Ren-Ne, 20, also held their own against experienced Australian pair Leanne Choo and Renuga Veeran who have partnered each other for eight years.
Although the unranked Singaporean duo have only been a doubles pair for just over a year, they produced a gritty display to beat the world No. 116 Australian pair 22-20, 16-22, 21-18.
Wong conceded that they weren't at the top of their game and will seek to keep improving, saying: "We felt relieved to have won the game, although we weren't playing at our best form. We were able to overcome the pressure from the home crowd and focus on strategies to beat the opponent."
They will meet India's world No. 26 pair of N. Sikki Reddy and Ashwini Ponnappa in the Round of 16 today.
The rest of the team also progressed to today's Round of 16.
Most of Singapore's paddlers advanced to the Round of 16 except mixed doubles pair Beh Kun Ting and Zhang Wanling, who lost 3-1 (11-3, 12-10, 10-12, 11-6) to England pair Ho Tin-Tin and Liam Pitchford, and 18-year-old Ethan Poh, who lost 4-0 (11-5, 12-10, 11-5, 12-10) to Northern Ireland's Paul McCreery.
Men's 50m pistol shooter Gai Bin came in sixth in the final with a score of 143.1, while Nigel Lim finished one place above him with 162.5 points.
In the women's double trap final, Siti Mastura Binte Rahim scored 68 points to come in eighth out of 10.
In the men's 1m springboard event, diver Mark Lee failed to qualify for the final with his score of 236.60.
Aiko Tan Jun qualified for the final of the women's rhythmic all around event after coming in 19th out 25 but failed to qualify for the finals of her other events. - KIMBERLY KWEK
