At the Thammasat University Gymnasium 4 in Pathum Thani, world number 146 Nur Insyirah Khan saw off world ranked 175 Mikaela De Guzman 21-15, 21-18 in 46 minutes to get Singapore off to a winning start.
The Philippines however, looked to have found a way back into the tie as world number 150 Megan Lee dropped the first game 19-21 to Ysabel Amora, who does not have a Badminton World Federation (BWF) rank.
But 20-year-old Lee kept her composure and took the next two games 24-22, 21-16 in a marathon match which lasted 81 minutes.
Jaslyn Hooi then completed the sweep as she cruised past Christel Rei Fuentespina 21-10, 21-14.
Speaking to reporters, Singapore national singles coach Kim Ji-hyun praised the fighting spirit of the charges.
“They didn’t give up, they fought (for) every single point. That’s what I liked,” she said. “(It shows) team spirit.”
World number 18 Yeo Jia Min was rested and did not feature in the tie, said Kim.
Kim said this was so as to give a chance to the “younger generation” of players like Lee. “We’ll see how it goes,” she added when asked if Yeo will feature on Monday.
The Thais, who have a number of top players including Pornpawee Chochuwong (world ranked 6) and Ratchanok Intanon (world number 8), are the favourites to take gold.
Kim added that there remains a gap between the top women’s teams like Thailand and Malaysia. “We (will) try to catch up to the top players,” she added. “We want to step up forward.”
She added that the medal will provide a big encouragement to the team.
“We are a small country, but we try to catch up to the big countries. This medal is good for them, encouraging for them … (so) they (can be) proud of themselves.”
