SANTIAGO, Chile — Katherine Wynter and Thalia Richardson say they have met their expectations, having won their opening matches in badminton at the Pan American Games here on Saturday.

Wynter defeated Bolivia’s Juanita Siviora Puro in straight games, and Richardson had a similar result against Vania Carolina Díaz Conejero, representing the host nation.

The Jamaicans are not only seeking medals at the games but also ranking points towards Olympic Games qualification.

Wynter says that in spite of being unsure about the quality of her opponent, as she knew nothing about her coming into the tournament, she is proud of her performance.

“I just prepared my mind for anything, and I’m proud I was able to convert it into a win,” Wynter told the Jamaica Observer after the game. “She seemed to be a new player, not very competitive. She had a lot of heart, a lot of spirit, and a lot of fight.

Wynter says it would have been beneficial to start against a more experienced player but there were positives to take from facing Puro.

“With her, I was able to feel out the court very well,” she said. “I was able to get some good rallies in. I didn’t try to win the point as soon as possible where I wanted to get a feel of the court and how the shuttle flies. It was a good game to prepare for the next match. A more competitive player would’ve pushed me more but I’m okay with this being my warm-up match.”

Wynter’s next singles opponent is Canada’s Rachel Chan.

Richardson had a challenging prospect, with the crowd loudly in support of Díaz Conejero. But she says she was able to block out the cheering and focus on her own game.

“It was a good performance,” she said. “In practice I wasn’t as confident playing the shuttle but in that match I was able to get good lengths and be in the rally and be composed — but also looking for the right time to attack and win the points.”

Richardson also said her opponent did not offer the challenge she would have hoped for going into the next round.

“It wasn’t as difficult as other games will be so I really got a chance to work the shuttle around the court so I could get a really good feel of what it’s like.”

Richardson grew in confidence and executed a stronger second game than the first.

“I was more comfortable there,” she said. “I knew what I needed to do so it was just about executing at this point. The first set, I knew what I needed to do — push her out, pull her in, and wait for the right shot but then there were some variations where I was messing around to see the right combinations to really finish it. But in the second game I had that figured out so I just went straight into it.”

Richardson, who says she felt a slight discomfort in her ankle from stretching during the game, cited the cold climate in Santiago as a challenge with regards to geting prepared.

Their male counterparts Bradley Evans and Samuel Ricketts did not have similar results. They went down 2-0 to Suriname’s Soren Opti and Mexico’s Luis Ramon Garrido Esquivel, respectively.

It was also a difficult day for Jamaica’s women’s 3×3 basketball team of Tashawna Higgins, Crystal Primm, Jessica Fairweather, and A Faatimah.

They lost their opening game of Group C 21-17 to Venezuela, then 22-11 to Puerto Rico.

In boxing, Jamaica’s Jaden Eccleston went down 5-0 to Haiti’s Cedrick Belony-Duliepre.

Yona Knight-Wisdom, the 2019 1m springboard diving silver medallist, finished 13th in his preliminary round effort, with 316.10 points. He moved on to the final, which started after press time. Yohan Eskrick-Parkinson also competed in the opening round but missed the final, placing 19th with a score of 283.90.